Outward Definitive Edition provided hours of bespoke exploration in both couch and online co-op, with intense battles and subtle storytelling. The anticipated sequel, Outward 2, has been confirmed to be releasing into Early Access on Steam on July 7th. Fans won’t have to worry about the new game being too hot to handle, though, as French-Canadian developer Nine Dots Studio assure us it will run on a “potato”.
In a new trailer announcing the July 7th release date, Nine Dots Studio also confirm (complete with an adorable stop-motion potato mascot) that the system requirements for their new title are built to make the adventure and hardship of Outward 2 available to as many players as possible.
Despite the sequel using a completely new engine in the form of Unreal Engine 5, the team are confident they can accommodate older hardware. After the performance woes of Avowed and Outer Worlds 2, UE5 doesn’t have the best standing with gamers. However, if a plucky indie studio like Nine Dots can show the world UE5 can be accessible they will earn everyone’s respect.
The game itself is set to tick all the boxes Outward did: Couch co-op, ritualistic magic, and progression based around what you can and can’t do with your equipment rather than an arbitrary “exp level”. The progression is getting a bit of a facelift to add in an “Exercise” system. Don’t worry, exercise here won’t mean your character has to do 15 sit-ups a day to increase their strength. Instead, it’s a new system in which passive abilities can grow or change as you play based on how you go about exploring, surviving and conquering Aurai.
In our review of the original game we saw the potential of Outward, and couldn’t help but admire the guts of the studio. In Outward 2, that potential is looking to be actualised in a more appealing way for your “average gamer”, rather than purely for the cult fans that already adore Outward for it’s Eurojank beauty.
While unfortunate that fans will have to wait a little longer for 1.0, Nine Dots are hoping an Early Access period as short as 12 months “might be in the cards” depending on reception and feedback provided. On release, the first Outward has invisible rain and infinitely respawning Sabres, so an Early Access stint to iron out the same little occurrences in the sequel can only be a good thing.
Given the cult success of the first game and the lack of any other developers exploring the co-op RPG space quite like this, we could see Outward 2 reach 1.0 by the end of 2027.
You can join Outward 2’s early access on Steam from July 7th
