The call to go beyond the stars is here once again, and it’s bigger, bolder, and more unpredictable than ever. We just revealed a first gameplay trailer for The Outer Worlds 2 during The Game Awards 2024, promising a fresh adventure in a brand-new colony next year.  No really, we know we’re not supposed to promise things in marketing, but the setting is completely new, so this is all factual. Just don’t break the colony again. We’re looking at each of you who sent the Hope into the sun in the last game.

In true Obsidian Entertainment fashion, you carve your path through Arcadia, a colony teeming with factions, intrigue, and chaos. It’s also home of skip drive technology and where the fate of the entire colony – and the galaxy – rests. As a daring, undeniably good-looking, and questionably competent Earth Directorate agent, you’re tasked with uncovering the source of devastating rifts threatening the entire galaxy. Talk about stakes (not to be confused with raptidon steaks, those are very different)!  The choice of how to deal with the rifts is up to you. “Your worlds, your way,” as we say at Obsidian.

Are the rifts the only thing threatening Arcadia? Of course not! That would be too easy. A factional war between the “benevolent rulers” known as the Protectorate, a rebellious scientific religious order, and a corporate mega power has the colony torn apart. Each is trying to close or control the rifts for their own good/monetarily profitable needs. Church, state, and capitalism! Who will win?! Well, that’s really up to you. This is your game. We’ve said the choices were yours the whole time. See that Obsidian motto above? Yeah, you get it.

We’ve said choice a few times already, but guess what? This is an RPG so it’s going to come up a few more times. When it comes to crafting your commander, it is full-on “RPG with RPG elements” time from ability points to skill checks in conversations, to even how flawed you want to be because, let’s admit it, no one is perfect. Except those who think they are. Look at you go. Being perfect.

How you build your commander and chart your way through the narrative is uniquely yours as you plunge into this player-driven story. Whether you’re a disciple of diplomacy, a smart strategist, a crusader of chaos, or defiantly different (so we can keep the alliterations), the choice – you guessed it – is yours. Oh, and with this being The Outer Worlds, yes, you can dumb!

While The Outer Worlds 2 is a single-player RPG, you won’t be alone! Not virtually anyway. Enlist a crew of companions to help you achieve your goals. Nothing says “middle management” more than sending people out to fight your fights for you, then having them judge everything you do with a visual reminder of how much they loved or hated it. Maybe you’ll help them fulfill their dreams or goals along the way. Clearly you care enough about the people working with you to see their dreams realized… right?

As excitement grows for the upcoming 2025 launch, now is the perfect time to revisit The Outer Worlds and relive the adventure that started it all. Whether you’re a seasoned spacer or are setting foot in Halcyon for the first time, there’s no better moment to prepare for the next chapter. The Outer Worlds is available for purchase on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. You also can jump in today if you’re a Game Pass member.

On top of that, the universe is expanding beyond the game! The Outer Worlds 2 will be featured in the upcoming Secret Level anthology series, streaming on Prime Video. Tune in on December 17 for a short story that takes place between The Outer Worlds and The Outer Worlds 2. While you may have thought that was a lot of shilling, the Secret Level episode is legitimately good, and if the Board were around, they’d tell you it was mandatory viewing.

Wishlist the game today on Xbox Series X|S, the Xbox app on Windows PC, and Steam, and stay tuned for more updates on The Outer Worlds 2 — we can’t wait to share what’s next with you. The galaxy is yours to explore; the only question is, how will you shape it?

The Outer Worlds 2 will be released in 2025 on Xbox Series X|S, the Xbox app on Windows PC, Steam, and PlayStation 5. It will also be available on day one with Game Pass.