Obsidian Entertainment announces The Outer Worlds
After teasing the announcement in the guise of website advertisements as early as last Wednesday, Obsidian Entertainment finally lifted the veil on their newest RPG, The Outer Worlds at The Game Awards 2018. A story-driven first-person RPG set on the edge of the galaxy, The Outer Worlds evokes a mesh of imagery that blends Mass Effect, Bioshock, and Fallout. The new IP is helmed by original Fallout creators Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, veterans of Interplay Entertainment and Troika Games.
Obsidian's newest endeavor is partnered with Private Division, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive. The fledgling publishing label was detailed by Game Informer last year, which went in depth about the group's scope of delivering titles that "maintain the production values gamers expect in a triple-A title, but deliver an experience tighter in scope and scale".
Obsidian is no stranger to bouncing around to different publishing partners, often working on their IPs such as the LucasArts Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords and Bethesda Softwork's Fallout: New Vegas. More recently, the then-independent studio went on to work with Paradox Interactive, Versus Evil, and THQ Nordic in differing capacities for Obsidian's own Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity: II: Deadfire, both titles involving crowdfunding campaigns during their respective developments.
Stay tuned tomorrow morning for our official in-depth preview of the Obsidian's newest title! The Outer Worlds is due out in 2019 for Steam, Xbox One, and Playstation 4.
Edit: Here's a bit about the game, grabbed from its Steam page, as well as some screenshots:
The Outer Worlds is a new single-player first-person sci-fi RPG from Obsidian Entertainment and Private Division.
In The Outer Worlds, you awake from hibernation on a colonist ship that was lost in transit to Halcyon, the furthest colony from Earth located at the edge of the galaxy, only to find yourself in the midst of a deep conspiracy threatening to destroy it. As you explore the furthest reaches of space and encounter various factions, all vying for power, the character you decide to become will determine how this player-driven story unfolds. In the corporate equation for the colony, you are the unplanned variable.
Key Features
- The player-driven story RPG: In keeping with the Obsidian tradition, how you approach The Outer Worlds is up to you. Your choices affect not only the way the story develops; but your character build, companion stories, and end game scenarios.
- You can be flawed, in a good way: New to The Outer Worlds is the idea of flaws. A compelling hero is made by the flaws they carry with them. While playing The Outer Worlds, the game tracks your experience to find what you aren't particularly good at. Keep getting attacked by Raptidons? Taking the Raptiphobia flaw gives you a debuff when confronting the vicious creatures, but rewards you with an additional character perk immediately. This optional approach to the game helps you build the character you want while exploring Halcyon.
- Lead your companions: During your journey through the furthest colony, you will meet a host of characters who will want to join your crew. Armed with unique abilities, these companions all have their own missions, motivations, and ideals. It's up to you to help them achieve their goals, or turn them to your own ends.
- Explore the corporate colony: Halcyon is a colony at the edge of the galaxy owned and operated by a corporate board. They control everything... except for the alien monsters left behind when the terraforming of the colony’s two planets didn’t exactly go according to plan. Find your ship, build your crew, and explore the settlements, space stations, and other intriguing locations throughout Halcyon.
