Delays and pushbacks are nothing new, especially in this year of Grand Theft Auto 6. However, following its beta, Outward 2 has been delayed from its July 7th early access release to 2027 for other reasons.
Creative director Guillaume Boucher-Vidal, also the CEO of Nine Dot Studios, acknowledged the suddenness of this decision on the studio’s official site. However, “the truth is that if we just stick to the plan stubbornly, we’re delivering a product that might not satisfy your expectations. The last thing we want to do is disappoint fans of Outward, and there have been a lot of comments stating that they wish for the game to spend more time in development before the launch. The point of a Beta is to listen to feedback, and so we will.”
Of course, Boucher-Vidal acknowledged that those who had planned their Summer break around playing the game. “It sucks for you, and I personally apologize to everyone affected this way. However, it would be even worse if you ended up playing something over your vacation that you were not even happy with.”
He also noted that it’s difficult to assuage “the appropriate degree of stability expected for Early Access. The best we can do is take a hard, honest look at the game, and at our team, and ask: in a few weeks, will this be good enough to charge money for?” Considering the team wants a “stark jump” in from the beta to early access that “we earn the trust of our players.” Clearly, that wasn’t possible.
However, Nine Dots Studio is taking it on the chin and compared it to the developer’s “equivalent of a defeat scenario.” “A setback and we come back better prepared.”
Much like its predecessor, Outward 2 is all about exploring a fantasy world and doing your best to survive. Enemies can often be overwhelming, and failure is highly likely, but death isn’t always the end. Sometimes, you may wake up in a different area entirely and try to find your way back.
As punishing as it sounds, the realism, lack of handholding and sense of freedom are ultimately what attracts players. Whether the sequel can surpass the highs of its predecessor remains to be seen, but at least it comes with co-op, both online and split-screen, so you can suffer with a friend. Stay tuned for updates on a new release date in the meantime.
