Outward 2 was recently delayed from its planned July 2026 Early Access launch to 2027, with the team saying beta feedback made it clear the game needed more time. What were the biggest areas of feedback that convinced you the delay was necessary, and what should players expect to feel has changed the most when they next play it?

Stability is the big outlier. Optimization and debugging takes a lot of time and Outward 2 is a very big game. Expectations for Early Access games are that it’s okay to have some bugs, but the experience should be pleasant. Crashes and disconnections while playing in multiplayer were frequent, and we’ve noticed some specific hardware and OS configurations that slowed the game’s performance to a crawl. So if you mix bad stability along with many small things that need work, such as economic or combat balance feeling off, you end up with frustrations and apprehensions in too many areas at once and instead of a sense of curiosity. We decided to extend the game’s development not to add more things, but to offer a tighter package that announces more clearly where we want to go from there.

You’ve said the goal is for there to be a “stark jump” between the beta and the Early Access launch. Does that primarily mean better stability and polish, or are you also using the extra time to rethink balance, onboarding, combat feel, quest structure, and world readability?

The biggest jump should be in making an experience that feels solid rather than holding together with duct tape. So debugging is important, but also the impact of balance changes can’t be understated. The balance in the playtests were not final, but clearly it’s been a sticking point for many players. Balance is something that is very easy to iterate on during Early Access, and it’s one of those things that is a lot easier to tweak just right when you have a dialog with your players. But we’ll need to be closer to the final intent to keep our players engaged. Something as trivial as how much stamina you recover from drinking water can impact a player’s experience.

As for onboarding or quest structure, while we do intend to improve the tutorial, it will remain a separate mode and we don’t intend to hold the player’s hand once they start their adventure. It’s part of the vision of Outward to feel overwhelmed at first. But we need to make sure we give enough tools to the player to overcome those initial challenges.That’s the fine line we need to hit in the balance.

"The biggest jump should be in making an experience that feels solid rather than holding together with duct tape."

The first Outward built its identity around immersion through friction – preparation, navigation, survival, danger, and consequences. With Outward 2, where did you draw the line between preserving that friction and making the game feel more responsive and approachable?

Essentially, we never thought about it in terms of if there was too much friction or not enough. Instead, we focused on whether or not that friction was going with or against the sense of immersion. How stiff combat was in Outward 1 was due to technical/budget constraints, not intentional friction. However, making the combat feel very deliberate was important. If we can make combat deliberate without making the player frustrated that their avatar is unable to do something they could do themselves, it’s a gain worth pursuing.

As for making the game more approachable, part of it is having a compelling carrot. In Outward, many players felt that the story was an afterthought unless they played through all factions and realized how complex of a tapestry of events and motivations the story actually was. So having more compelling characters, story beats, a better rhythm and, eventually, fully voiced dialogs should give some motivation to keep pushing initially. So if the experience is less clunky, more visually appealing, with a more involved story and a world that feels more fleshed out, I think that we’re giving a better reason to stick through the friction than we did in Outward 1.

Outward 2’s combat is noticeably more fluid, with dodge steps, rolls, cancels, dual-wielding, smoother blocks, and more flexible weapon combinations. Since players now have more control in combat, how have enemies, stamina costs, encounter placement, and punishment been rebalanced to keep the game difficult without feeling unfair?

The speed and flexibility we gave to the player had to be matched with higher aggression from the enemies, and we also gave them more ways to attack from a distance. We also still need to work on what are the proper stamina costs for actions now that they are faster, since it means there are more opportunities to land multiple hits, or more attacks to dodge in a shorter amount of time.

We want to be very careful with the number of enemies we have to face at a time. So our levers of balance are more based on behaviors and statistics.

At the end of the day though, the lesson is that real combat is not fair. You should give yourself an extra edge if you want to survive a 2 versus one encounter, or to fight against a monster that is multiple times your size. I think the worst thing we can do is to pretend that it’s fair while it’s not. If, from the outset, you understand that the world is unfair towards you, then you start approaching combat differently. That’s when it pays to be clever and prepared.

"At the end of the day though, the lesson is that real combat is not fair."

The Exercise system sounds like a major shift away from traditional XP and levels, tying growth to finite micro-achievements across combat, crafting, and survival. How does this system change the way players naturally build their character, and how much room is there for non-combat-focused progression?

I foresee two different approaches. Either the player will choose the upgrades that naturally offer themselves to them as they play with whichever playstyle came organically to them, or they’ll make a plan of where they want to take their characters and influence how they play to speed up their ascension. Both approaches are fine and viable. While some requirements are tied to non-combat gameplay, the rewards are always at least in some fashion relevant to combat aptitudes. The reason for this is that the other things we can do rely more on know-how than on statistical advantages.

I think the biggest impact is that your character will grow more slowly but also more gradually. In Outward 1, once the ball started rolling, finishing your character’s build could go very fast. Now, instead of a final growth spur, your journey will reward you gradually, which in my opinion better simulates the experience of learning and growing.

Early Access is planned to launch with three of four regions and only part of each faction questline, while the full game is targeting four regions and three major questlines. How are you structuring Early Access so that it feels like a meaningful adventure rather than an incomplete slice of the final game?

There’s custom content such as level design and story, then there’s systemic content such as character builds and mechanical exploration. At first, we will lean more into the sandbox experience to keep our players busy, but it’s our intent to prioritize the rest of the story and regions within the first big updates to come, so that they quickly get a sense that almost all of it is there. That’s when we can start surprising them with extra layers of depth!

Narrative delivery seems to be one of the big areas you want to validate during Early Access, especially before committing to full voice acting. What did you learn from the first game’s more emergent storytelling, and how much more authored, character-driven, or faction-driven will Outward 2’s story be?

The story in Outward was mostly about witnessing a series of events enacted from enormous factions, as just one among many to serve the organizations and without ever being at the center of the attention. This time around, in order to feel more the stakes of the story and get a deeper connection with the characters, we came up with smaller factions, also implying that your role is more central for that smaller group. The stakes are just as high as in Outward 1, but there is more space to intimately know who is involved. I rarely feel like the characters are really important in open world games, so this approach is our attempt to break the pattern.

Outward 2 is adding a more alive world through seasonal changes, region-specific hazards, patrols, dynamic encounters, and stronger navigation demands. How are you making the world denser and more readable without compromising the series’ refusal to rely on GPS-style guidance and hand-holding?

Honestly my only answer to this is a simple one: aside from maps, add more signs on the roads to help figure out the way

"I think the most frustrating elements are when you feel like there’s nothing you could have done to reach a different outcome."

Preparation seems even more central this time, with traps, poisons, potions, sigils, specialized gear, backpacks, mules, camping equipment, food, weather protection, and wound management all playing into survival. How do you make these systems feel like meaningful strategy rather than busywork?

In most survival games, you fill up your needs to get rid of handicaps. In Outward, that’s the first step but then eventually you do it instead because it strengthens your playstyle. So your choice of tent, backpack, food all might change based on the fact you want to play a mage, for instance. So you go from doing it because you need to, to doing it because you want to.

Of course you probably don’t want a sprained ankle and a concussion, but that’s different. For wounds or illnesses, we went with something that was more mechanically complex than just a lowered stat that can easily be healed whenever. That way, we make the player shift their mindset and acknowledge the consequence of their state, rather than just power through it.

Defeat scenarios, wounds, time skips, stolen gear, quest timers, and Hardcore mode’s permanent-save risk all sound like they could create amazing stories, but also real frustration. After the beta, how are you tuning those consequences so setbacks remain memorable and fair rather than demoralizing?

I think the most frustrating elements are when you feel like there’s nothing you could have done to reach a different outcome. For that, we need to ensure that we distribute enough tools (such as traps, potions and ammo) and enough knowledge about those tools (such as hints through dialogs, crafting recipes, early opportunities).

During the beta, I feel that we could have done a better job with that early distribution, in order to get them started. Our approach is to subtly nudge, but never to push them outright towards the answers. Some people might not catch on and that’s a risk we’re quite willing to take.

An Open World, Survival-Driven RPG Sequel

If you wanted a punishing, systems-heavy survival experience back in 2019 then Outward was your masochistic go-to. Despite its technical shortcomings and a lack of polish, the original has grown into something of a cult favourite. Now, a bolder, more unforgiving, yet just as rewarding sequel is on the horizon. Outward 2 is set to revitalise hardship, with more consequential RPG choices, unique playstyles, overhauled combat, and a roster of tough-as-nails enemies making survival across this beautiful open world a sterner test than its predecessor.

A Relatable, Human Journey

Beginning Outward 2, you’re just a regular human; a commoner, not innately powerful, without magic or combat skill. Outside the relative safety of city walls, in the unfettered wilds, is where you earn your growth, with distinct classes and playstyles emerging as you become more adept at making it through the night. Developer Nine Dots Studio is positioning this sequel as “the ultimate simulation of an adventurer’s life” – rising from zero to hero, with the satisfaction this brings, is where Outward 2 portrays its believable, relatable, deeply human themes.

Survival is Your First Concern

Before you can even think about dabbling in heroics, however, Outward 2 thrusts upon you a slate of survival concerns – hunger, thirst, exhaustion, even harsh weather will kill the most careful explorer long-before encountering any of the game’s gamut of deadly creatures. Whilst the sequel refuses to hold your hand, the adverse effects of these survival mechanics – sickness, fatigue, and so on – aren’t designed to punish you but to teach the importance of preparation. You’ll need that skill as you venture further, and the stakes grow higher.

Your Backpack Can Be a Source of Friction

Embodying the relatability of Outward 2’s human endeavour more than most is the game’s backpack mechanics. You’ll need to load it up with food, weapons, potions, and camping gear, but how much should you take? Overloading slows your movement to a snail’s pace, but leaving a provision behind, something you may need later, could spell certain doom should an inopportune moment emerge. More so, heavy bag or not, you’re best dropping it when encountering a foe; it’ll enable you to barrel-roll out of harm’s way, if only for a second.

Fully Playable Online and Co-op

Completing Outward 2 is possible as a solo player, but if you wish to share the burden of staying alive long enough to see the end then good news – the sequel is fully playable in both online and split-screen co-op, with partners able to seamlessly drop in and out. At launch, at least, there’s no matchmaking system for finding online companions, so if you fancy teaming up but don’t have a mate to join you then you can check out the studio’s dedicated Discord server.

Aurai is a Dynamic Open World

While the sequel is undeniably gorgeous, the open world of Aurai is a hostile place. And, without fast travel or mounts, route planning and preparation is paramount. With four distinct regions to discover, each containing unique biomes, environmental threat, and gameplay constraints, venturing from one area to the next forces you to adapt your gear and your approach. See, while heavy armour will keep you protected in a monster-filled forest, it’ll cause deadly hyperthermia in a sun-scorched desert. In short: you’ll need to prep accordingly.

Cycling Seasonal Shifts

Biome diversity isn’t the only reason you’ll be rethinking your tactics, but each of Aurai’s regions are affected by seasonal shifts and weather patterns too. That monster-filled forest we mentioned? It’ll be a balmy place to explore during Springtime, but previously accessible paths will be frozen come Winter. Freezing temperatures may open other routes, of course, but learning how to manage extreme heat and cold alike will be crucial to surviving the game’s seasonal shifts.

Character Creation Includes Starting Scenarios

One of Outward 2’s defining character creation tools is the ability to choose your avatar’s starting scenario. Alongside familial backgrounds and traits, how your character begins their journey is up to you – are you a mountain-dwelling miner, or a denizen of a subterranean realm? How your choice of starting location intertwines with the wider story – if each permanently diverges or coalesces at the same point – is unclear, but they give stronger reasons to get out of the comfort of your home village than picking just your likeness or stats.

Exercises is a New Progression System

Up to this point, many of Outward 2’s improvements revolve around refining already existing systems, but the all-new Exercise system is something else entirely: a redefinition of how character progression works. Performing tasks built around survival, crafting, combat, and more, completes an ‘exercise’ which you can then choose to adapt into your build, unlocking permanent stat boosts and passive abilities. There are five attribute branches to follow, but you won’t be able to max out every exercise. This means long-term character planning is essential, with the sequel encouraging you to follow a path toward a specialised playstyle.

The Reading System Synergises with Exercises

Exercises, however, are only one half of the coin. While they encourage you to learn by physically doing certain actions, Outward 2’s Reading system provides foundational knowledge which you’ll need to dedicate time to studying. After tracking down specific books, you’ll be given the opportunity to read them at camp, but the information contained within their pages isn’t gleaned immediately. Reading is a time investment, just like Exercises, and you’ll need to hit certain criteria for both before a specialised trainer – of which numerous are scattered throughout the open world – will teach you an advanced skill.

Combat Has Been Refined

While the weighty feel and fundamental need to drop your bag remains, Outward 2 expands its predecessor’s combat by introducing the ability to dual-wield any weapon combination freely. Two pistols, a sword and an axe, even two shields if you think there’s payoff in such a strategy. Meanwhile, the mechanical clunkiness of the original has been refined with smoother, more responsive animation, with swift dodges, rolls, and seamless transitions between attacks, parries, dodges, and more.

Spellcasting Remains an Involved Process

While combat receives a quiet overhaul, magic wielding in Outward 2 remains a deliberate, involved, near-sacrificial process. See, in order to build your mana, you’ll need to permanently sacrifice some of your health, and if you pursue a pure-magelike build you’ll be brittle to the touch. Elsewhere, casting spells still follows a ritualistic procedure, where you’ll need physical stones which act as catalysts to create sigils. New Willpower attributes, reading magic spellbooks, and hybridising magic with the sequel’s new dual-weapon mechanics give spellcasting some distinction over the first game.

Defeat Leads to Unique Situations

Similar to its forebear, defeat in Outward 2 doesn’t mean death. What actually happens is you’ll be carried, unconscious, to parts unknown. A cave, perhaps a bandit camp, and you’ll either have your backpack with you or you’ll need to scope it out amidst an uncertain backdrop. Maps in Outward 2 don’t include a marker; it’s just a map, so losing your gear could prove quite an annoyance. Still, you could wake up in worse condition – injured, robbed, or both.

Hardcode Mode Negates Frequent Auto-Saves

As the game auto-saves frequently in Outward 2, your decisions carry extra weight. In other words: you’re forced to live with the outcome of your choices, both good and bad. However, if this loop isn’t tough enough for you, the sequel ships with a Hardcode Mode. Here, there’s a 20% chance that defeat will wipe your save file, permadeath-style. That ever-present risk adds a layer of tension to every encounter, turning even routine fights into high-stakes gambles where continuing is never guaranteed.

Early Access Comes With the Usual Caveats

Releasing to early access means Outward 2 will arrive as a work in progress. On PC only, you can expect ongoing balance changes, system refinements, and bug fixes as development rolls on. A broader roadmap will shape community feedback into meaningful iterations before more biomes, classes, and events unlock. A beta is available to play right now, with studio Nine Dots recently publishing a list of fixes to the game’s Steam page, arising from player feedback.

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.

Corny as it may seem, the results certainly speak for themselves, even if it’s running at 1280×720 and 30 FPS. Even the quality preset is called “Potato”, but only requiring an AMD FX 6300 X6, a GeForce GTX 750 Ti and 8 GB of RAM in this day and age is no small feat.

For those who go various other ways, Ultra settings at 4K/60+ FPS will require a Ryzen 7 7700, an RTX 4080 and a whopping 32 GB of RAM. At least Medium at 1440p/60 FPS offers a solid middle ground, requiring a Ryzen 5 5600X, 16 GB RAM, and an RTX 3060. Check out the full hardware requirements here.

Of course, if you want to get in on the action even sooner, registrations are open for the closed beta, which runs from May 26th to June 8th. January playtest participants receive automatic access, and it’s a good thing, because there’s a new region to explore: La Rescapée.

Don’t let the name, which means “saved and finally safe” in French, fool you. Following an extensive history of violence, it’s home to numerous ghosts. As always, prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Grand Theft Auto 6

Rockstar’s upcoming return to Vice City is easily the biggest open-world release on the horizon, and the perfect candidate to start off the list. Grand Theft Auto 6 promises a living, breathing world packed with dynamic NPC routines, reactive law enforcement, and an unprecedented level of environmental detail. The dual protagonists inspired by the adventures of Bonnie and Clyde look to be a promising storyline filled with several emotional moments. Of course, missions, side activities, and emergent mayhem are also important pillars of the experience – so we are definitely looking forward to this one.

The core game design decision behind this is the fact that players’ characters in Outward 2 will be regular humans, rather than being important parts of some major prophecies about the fate of the world. “That was the big change in our approach,” said Boucher-Vidal. “We made all of our design decisions to be in alignment with this vision. You are just a regular person, and you just want to think like a human would, but in a fantasy world.”

“It’s when you’re aloof, when you’re just like ‘pfft, that’s not so dangerous, I’ve done it before,’ and that’s when life just claps back at you, right? In real life, it’s like that. It should be like that in the design as well.”

Things start out with the in-depth character creation offered in Outward 2, which is a major step up from 2019’s Outward. Boucher-Vidal acknowledged the fact that the first game in the series had “very ugly protagonists,” and that it didn’t offer many options aside from a handful of faces and haircuts. Outward 2, on the other hand, will offer players more options, including things like character backgrounds and traits.

When starting out, players will also have the choice of three different starting locations, each of which will have its own unique quest that sets up the motivation to go on an adventure. One city, for example, frames the player’s decision to set off on an adventure as being the result of desperation from being homeless, while another city will have players having just bought a house, and getting embroiled in strange situations from that. The third city will have the player looking to improve their lot in life after having spent time sweating away in mines.

Tying further into the sense of immersion Nine Dots Studio wants to provide for players, Outward 2 will have a complete year-long calendar system that will also serve as the foundation for a dynamic weather system. Much like in the real world, the seasons in Outward 2 will change depending on the month. Seasons will also affect the world around players rather than simply being visual effects.

Improvements made the combat include allowing players to equip more varying kinds of equipment, including the option to dual wield just about any weapons or shields they might find.

Outward 2 is coming to PC in Summer 2026. The studio has also confirmed that there will be playtests, which can be registered for through Steam.

As a follow-up to the 2019 open-world RPG, Outward 2 continues the tradition of immersive fantasy with extensive consequences for nearly every action. You’re once again starting as an unremarkable individual, but there are three scenarios and 11 backgrounds to influence the beginning. Aurai offers four core regions with unique biomes and a seasonal cycle that spans the entire year.

While it’s a struggle at first (and honestly, every step along the way), you can seek out trainers to improve your skills and leverage the Exercise system to improve passives. Weapons have separate movesets, and combat feels more fluid. You can even bring along a pack mule for extra carrying space.

For those interested in going hands-on ahead of time, Nine Dots Studios will host a playtest. Dates have yet to be revealed, but you can pre-register on Steam.

ONCE HUMAN

Due out sometime later this year, fans of the survival genre have had their eyes on Once Human for a while. Its post-apocalyptic setting is looking promising, especially with the variety of truly horrific monstrosities that players will be contending with, while everything that we’ve seen of its customization and progression mechanics, base building, and survival systems (which include a Sanity system) has looked quite enticing as well.

THE FIRST DESCENDANT

Nexon’s third-person shooter The First Descendant has been on quite a few radars for a couple of years now. Part-Warframe, part-Destiny, the looter shooter is promising fast combat, bombastic boss fights, and a variety of different weapons and playable characters, with the latter all coming with their own unique play styles. After a couple of beta tests over the last year, The First Descendant is due out this Summer.

WARHAMMER 40,000: SPACE MARINE 2

Space Marine 2 is looking like an enticing game even if you intend to play through it solo, but true to its Gears of War-inspired lineage, co-op is going to be a huge part of the experience. The entire campaign can be played by three players together, and that’s quite an exciting prospect, especially given the bombastic, high-octane, gory action that the game is looking like it’s going to deliver.

PANICORE

A co-op survival horror game? Sign us the hell up. Panicor will see a group of five players – playing as daredevil explorers – finding themselves trapped in abandoned, urban buildings, and with a terrifying monster chasing you every stop of the way, your goal is to hide, outwit your nightmarish foe, and find a way out. Not only will players have to work together to solve elaborate puzzles and effectively explore their environments, they’ll also be constantly contending with a pursuer enemy that can literally hear every single step you take.

DESTINY 2: THE FINAL SHAPE

Destiny 2 has had as many ups as it has had downs, but where its upcoming expansion, The Final Shape, most of what Bungie has shown off so far gives us reason to be optimistic (not that there haven’t been controversial reveals- but then again, with Destiny, there are always going to be controversial reveals). On top of its new story content, the expansion is promising a new enemy race, another new subclass, new Light-based supers, significant changes to the Power level system, the return of exotic items, and much more. It’s looking increasingly likely that The Final Shape will be Destiny 2’s last major expansion (especially with recent reports claiming that Destiny 3 is in the works), so here’s hoping the long-running looter shooter signs off on a high note.

JOHN CARPENTER’S TOXIC COMMANDO

Space Marine 2 isn’t the only gleefully gory co-op game Saber Interactive is working on. John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is due out sometime this year, and it’s looking like an absolute riot so far. With the promise of over-the-top gore and humour, thrilling co-op action against massive hordes of undead enemies, and more, this first-person shooter has certainly ensured that many are going to be keeping their eye on it.

LITTLE NIGHTMARES 3

Even though Little Nightmares games have always made companion characters a core part of the experience, co-op has never been a part of the equation. That’s changed with the upcoming Little Nightmares 3, and we’re more than a little excited about that. The series’ brand of gameplay is one that would lend itself remarkably well to co-op gameplay, especially given the intense horror set-pieces that Little Nightmares games love so dearly. The fact that co-op in Little Nightmares 3 is going to be online only is disappointing, but hopefully Supermassive Games and Bandai Namco will add a couch co-op option down the line.

OUTWARD 2

Nine Dots’ 2019 action RPG Outward may not have set the world on fire, but its sequel is making some interesting promises. In addition to bringing back the first game’s gruelingly unforgiving approach to difficulty, Outward 2 is also set to boast much higher production values, according to its developer, which should hopefully make its world a much more engaging one. Though the action RPG can certainly be played solo, co-op – whether local or online, splitscreen or otherwise – is exactly the sort of thing that can make its massively challenging obstacles that much more interesting.

NO REST FOR THE WICKED

Given how good the Ori games were, it’s no surprise that Moon Studios’ No Rest for the Wicked has as many eyes on it as it does, and thus far, it’s looking like the action RPG is set to be another impressive notch on the developer’s belt. Though its recent early access release wasn’t without its issues, the core gameplay experience is undoubtedly a strong one. So far, the game is only playable solo, but its first major update will be adding four-player co-op, which we’re looking forward to keenly.

MECHWARRIOR 5: CLANS

With its promise of a story-driven experience, MechWarrior 5: Clans has got plenty of fans’ attention who may have been let down by some of the series’ more recent outings, but based on what we know of the game so far, it’s looking like its inclusion of five-player co-op may be just as big of a selling point. There’s plenty of enjoyment to get out of MechWarrior’s brand of action regardless, but the addition of four players stomping about in mechs by your side is likely to make things a little bit more interesting.

MONSTER HUNTER WILDS

Obviously, we need to have the next Monster Hunter game on a list about the most promising upcoming co-op games. There’s nothing quite like setting out on hunts with a squad of friends and taking on the series’ staggering variety of incredibly designed monsters in combat. Even if Monster Hunter Wilds was just a straightforward iteration of that formula, there’d be every reason to look forward to it, but with Capcom promising some significant evolutions for the series’ tried-and-tested formula, our excitement is sky-high.

TEMTEM SWARM

After attempting to emulate Pokemon with Temtem, Crema is now looking to take a page out of Vampire Survivors’ book with the upcoming spinoff Temtem Swarm. Built around three-player co-op, Temtem Swarm will see players engaging in frenetic top-down action and playing as cute little Temtem gunning down hordes of their own kind. It’s certainly a bizarre premise, and the game’s announcement has been met with a fair bit of backlash by the Temtem community, but we’re certainly keeping our eyes on this one.

TERMINATOR: SURVIVORS

A Terminator survival game set after Judgment Day is an elevator pitch that’s bound to grab your attention. Terminator: Survivors will see players exploring an open world setting, scavenging resources to bring back to an ever-expanding base. The hook, of course, that you’ll have to do all of this with the terrifying threat of Skynet and its machines constantly looming over you. Due out this October and playable both solo and co-op, Terminator: Survivors is definitely one we can’t wait to get our hands on.

BORDERLANDS 4

We know next to nothing about Borderlands 4 so far. Hell, it hasn’t even been officially unveiled yet. But 2K and Gearbox Entertainment have confirmed that the co-op looter shooter is in development, which, given the series’ pedigree, is enough to turn more than a few heads. How Borderlands 4 will evolve and build on the series’ formula remains to be seen, but this is a franchise that has been remarkably consistent over the years, so it’s definitely got our attention.

CONTRABAND

Avalanche Studios has built its fair share of compelling open world experiences in the past, so it’s no surprise that Contraband – a co-op open world game being made exclusively for Xbox Series X/S and PC with the full backing of Microsoft – has piqued so many people’s curiosity. Other than a logo reveal disguised as an announcement trailer, we’ve seen nothing of the game so far, but the prospect of a heist-based co-op open world sandbox is an exciting one, so hopefully, we’ll be seeing more of Contraband in the not-too-distant future.

Among the features of Outward 2, alongside a general improvement to visuals when compared to the original Outward, will be more content than before, including new non-combat encounters, impactful day/night cycles and weather conditions, and even more active NPCs.

The game will also have improved character creation tools, as well as a complete overhaul to progression that brings with it a new exercise tree and gives players tasks to help unlock new improvements and abilities. The combat system is also set to be improved, with more responsive attacks, as well as the addition of dual wielding.

Outward 2 doesn’t yet have a release date, but the game does have a Steam page, which reveals that it will support single-player, as well as online and split-screen co-op.