Summary
Obsidian Entertainment has made itself a household name with several high-quality and high-profile releases such asKOTOR 2, Fallout: New Vegas, South Park: The Stick of Truth, thePillars of Eternityfranchise, and, more recently,GroundedandPentiment. This is exactly why many fans are excited about its two current games known to be in development,AvowedandThe Outer Worlds 2.Avowedis releasing in 2024, with more news on it coming onJanuary 18’s Xbox Developer Direct, butThe Outer Worlds 2is in a limbo of sorts.
The firstOuter Worldswas well-received, with the game sitting at a Strong rating on OpenCritic with a Top Critic Average of 83 (and 83% of critics recommending it). Because of agreements made before its release and Obsidian’s acquisition, it would be released in 2019 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, 2020 on Nintendo Switch, and be published by Private Division. Now, however, its sequel is expected to be published by Microsoft and released on PC and Windows. There is some indicationThe Outer Worlds 2could come to PS5, but nothing concrete following Obsidian’s announcement otherwise a few years ago. Overall,The Outer Worlds 2has been rather quiet since its reveal in 2021, and it’s not likely to change that in 2024.
Avowed Has The Outer Worlds 2 in a Holding Pattern
The Outer Worlds 2may be an anticipated release, but it’s one without a lot of concrete information. The initialOuter Worlds 2trailerclaimed to be in early development, mocking the typical method of a video game trailer. It was a fun moment, but it was later revealed thatThe Outer Worlds 2has been in development, to some degree, since September 2019.
Anyone would be forgiven for thinking news onThe Outer Worlds 2would come soon, as this September would mark five years since development began, but that’s not the case.Ultimately, fans should expect little-to-no news in 2024.
Avowedwill be Obsidian’s main product of 2024, and as such, it will receive the lion’s share of attention and marketing. Not only will its release set the tone for its subsequent support, but it can do the same forThe Outer Worlds 2. For example, if Obsidian confirmsAvowed’s release dateat the Xbox Developer Direct, it would likely be sometime early in 2024. In this case, it would not be surprising to get a little news aboutThe Outer Worlds 2near the end of the year, perhaps at The Game Awards 2024.
If it doesn’t, though, and it turns out to be released later this year,The Outer Worlds 2may not even make an appearance. Ultimately, players should expect an incredibly sparse news cycle forThe Outer Worlds 2in 2024, if anything at all surfaces from Obsidian and Microsoft.
It should be noted that there’s nothing wrong with that, either. It makes more sense to market a more immediate product than to allocate a lot of resources to one further out, but that also doesn’t meanThe Outer Worlds 2will be a 2027 or later game. There are somegames more likely to be released in the 2030sthan the 2020s, but that’s not the case forThe Outer Worlds 2.
The Outer Worlds 2 Could Be a 2025 Release
The most likely scenario is back-to-back years for Obsidian. BothGroundedandPentimentwould release in 2022, with the first one getting tons of support throughout 2023 as a survival game. That’ll likely continue in 2024, which means Obsidian is working onGrounded, planning to releaseAvowed,and continuing work onThe Outer Worlds 2throughout 2024. This is only speculation, but givenObsidian has reportedly worked onThe Outer Worlds 2since 2019, it would make sense to see it in 2025, no later than 2026.Avowedin 2024 andThe Outer Worlds 2in 2025 would no doubt be the 1-2 punch Obsidian needs.
