 The game couldn't be made under that condition, so they needed to find a new publisher, which was when Microsoft expressed interest in publishing their games, but under the condition that they release "Munch" exclusively for the Xbox.It was a time where money was as important as ever, because unlike the current generation of gaming, developers were not given the tools to build games for the Xbox and PS2; they had to build their own tools first, at a great expense, and wanting "Munch"'s story to be better, while maintaining the soul of "Abe's Oddysee" and the quality of the Oddworld brand as their mascot had to compete with globally recognised icons like Duke Nukem and Lara Croft, Lanning's company was left with no other option but to choose the console that could withstand its new technologies and afford to lend them the money required to keep it alive in the industry, even if it meant the fans on other platforms would not have access to the game.On 23 October 2000, Microsoft announced the signing of a deal with Infogrames, securing exclusive rights to publishing and distributing the next four Oddworld Inhabitants titles, beginning with "Munch's Oddysee" the following year.