Obsidian Entertainment’sThe Outer Worldsdebuted in 2019 and was largely well-received by fans and critics. It even got DLC in 2020 and 2021, which also went over well, despite some gripes about repetitive combat. For many fans,The Outer Worldsis the spiritual successor toFallout: New Vegas, another highly regarded Obsidian Entertainment game.The Outer Worldshas supposedly been approved for a sequel, known asThe Outer Worlds 2for now, and it’s currently rumored to be in pre-production.
WhileThe Outer Worlds 2is sure to be an exciting follow-up to the original game, there are some things that make the sequel a bit more complicated than before. Originally,The Outer Worldswas released for a variety of consoles so many different players could enjoy the game. Now thatMicrosoft owns Obsidian Entertainmentand controlsThe Outer WorldsIP, there’s a good chance that things won’t be as straightforward when it comes to the release ofThe Outer Worlds 2.
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How The Outer Worlds Could Affect the Sequel
Given thatThe Outer Worldsis an RPG, player choices play a crucial part in how the game is experienced each time. But each ending could affectThe Outer Worlds 2in different ways, so a choice import system could work well for the next game. However, choice imports probably won’t be as easy fromThe Outer WorldstoThe Outer Worlds 2now that Obsidian is under the Microsoft umbrella.
With Microsoft owningObsidian Entertainment, players may not be ableto directly import their choices fromThe Outer Worlds. Instead of a direct import, there may be a list of choices players fill out to reflect how their playthrough went. Alternatively, fans ofThe Outer Worldswho didn’t play on Xbox may want to consider switching to that platform and doing another playthrough there. That way, a direct import could be possible, rather than trying to remember choices and filling out a list.
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Why The Outer Worlds 2 Will Probably Be Xbox Exclusive
Console-exclusive games are by no means a surprise anymore, but it is disappointing when a game that wasn’t an exclusive becomes one for the sequel.Players could enjoyThe Outer Worldson platformslike PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and even Nintendo Switch. However, odds are thatThe Outer Worlds 2will be console exclusive to Xbox because of the Microsoft acquisition of Obsidian. While this isn’t inherently bad, it is a bit frustrating for fans who didn’t play on an Xbox system.
The Outer Worlds 2becoming an Xbox-exclusive is really just a growing pain of Microsoft becoming the official publisher ofThe Outer Worldsand whatever franchise it may create. However, it is disheartening for fans who played on other consoles because theymay not be able to invest in PlayStation and Xbox, especially for one game. There may be a bit of a silver lining in the event thatThe Outer Worlds 2is available on PC, but that again implies that people have the money for multiple gaming devices.
It’s also possible thatThe Outer Worlds 2won’t actually be an Xbox-exclusive title. However, the odds of that happening are very slim, especially considering how common console-exclusive games are and how they drive up sales for different consoles. Given thatThe Outer Worlds 2is only rumoredto be in pre-production, it’s too soon to say what the game will be about or how Microsoft will deal with the IP. If the success ofThe Outer Worldswas any indication, though,The Outer Worlds 2is full of possibilities. What console it’ll end up on is the only real concern.
The Outer Worldsis available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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