| The Outer Worlds | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Obsidian Entertainment[a] |
| Publisher(s) | Private Division |
| Director(s) | |
| Producer(s) | Eric DeMilt |
| Designer(s) | Charles Staples |
| Programmer(s) | Mark DeGeorge |
| Artist(s) | Daniel Alpert |
| Writer(s) | Leonard Boyarsky |
| Composer(s) | Justin E. Bell |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 4 |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | October 25, 2019
|
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The Outer Worlds is a 2019 action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Private Division. Set in an alternate future, the game takes place in Halcyon, a distant star system colonized by megacorporations. In the game, players assumes control of a passenger from a lost colony ship, who is revived by a mad scientist and tasked to rescue their fellow colonists and take down the corporations responsible for the colony's downfall. The game is played from a first-person perspective, and players can use combat, stealth, or dialog (persuasion, lying and intimidation) options when encountering potentially hostile non-playable characters. Players can make numerous dialog decisions which influence the game's branching story.
Led by Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, the creators of the Fallout series, the development of the game began in April 2016. Firefly, Futurama and Deadwood all inspired the game's world and characters. The team used striking color to depict its game world, and the team was influenced by the Art Nouveau style and the works of Alphonse Mucha and Moebius. The game was envisioned to be narrower in scope compared to other role-playing games although a number of locations and characters were still cut due to time and budget constraints, as well as the team's unfamiliarity with using the game's engine. The game was announced at The Game Awards 2018 and then released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in October 2019, with the Nintendo Switch port released in June 2020. Obsidian supported the game with two downloadable content packs, and a remastered version of the game was released in March 2023 for PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S as The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition.
The Outer Worlds has received generally positive reviews. Critics generally praised the game's writing, characters, freedom of choice, and art direction, though its combat was criticized for being bland. Many critics noted the game's similarity to the Fallout series. The Switch version was criticized for its technical issues. It was nominated for several end-of-year accolades, including Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2019. The game was a commercial success, selling over four million units by August 2021, surpassing expectations. A sequel, The Outer Worlds 2, was announced by Obsidian and its parent company Xbox Game Studios in June 2021.
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