It appears that Obsidian Entertainment may be working on a next-gen version of The Outer Worlds, according to new sources. The studio's 2019 first-person action RPG received widespread acclaim upon launch, and with a sequel already well on its way, it's not too big of a stretch to imagine an up-to-date current-gen version of the game as well.
The Outer Worlds made a name for itself by delivering a gameplay/role-playing experience that's rather similar to Bethesda's own Fallout games, which hadn't received a fresh single-player release since 2015. And, with Obsidian having developed Fallout: New Vegas under Bethesda's umbrella, the comparisons afforded it plenty of attention and media hype, which seems to be extending further still with these latest reveals.
Namely, even though The Outer Worlds 2 is skipping PS5, VGC discovered that the Taiwanese content rating board had rated The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. The listing has since been taken down, but it implies that there's a new, upgraded version of the game being made for the more powerful hardware of the current console generation. Little else is known about it at this time, although it's worth pointing out that the Spacer's Choice version of The Outer Worlds may come with a full suite of the game's existing post-launch DLC, too.
It was The Outer Worlds' unique humor that truly made this FPS/RPG hybrid stand out on the market, with its biting critique of an advanced, hyper-capitalist society that's on the verge of breaking down. By optimizing the game for current-generation hardware, Obsidian Entertainment is likely not only to reach new audiences that had ignored the game before, but might also get previous fans to replay it anew. The obvious question, of course, is whether The Spacer's Choice version would end up releasing for free for previous owners of the game or if it would be a standalone upgrade instead.
This issue is particularly important on PC, where the launch of an upgraded build of the game might not be nearly as big of a deal as it is on current-gen consoles. In fact, with a variety of mods for The Outer Worlds already available on the platform, the potential launch of The Spacer's Choice version may not be needed, though this depends entirely on the nature of the upgrades that Obsidian might be making.
While some feel that Starfield should steal some features from Outer Worlds, it's worth keeping in mind that Bethesda's upcoming space-faring RPG is a wildly different game from Obsidian's own offering. The Outer Worlds is a fair bit more linear than Bethesda RPGs are and offers a more structured take on the same basic premise. Whether The Spacer's Choice ends up coming out or not, this IP has some great things ahead of it, though competition is bound to be fierce in 2023.
The Outer Worlds is available now for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: VGC