The Outer Worlds – Microsoft Wants to Help “Expand” Franchise

Obsidian Entertainment’s The Outer Worlds is published by Private Division, but the developer itself was acquired by Microsoft last year. There’s no doubt, then, that it would have some interest in the IP. To that end, speaking to Game Informer, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty said that it’s interested in expanding the franchise.

Interestingly, he also believes that The Outer Worlds is the “kind of game” that could benefit from going Xbox-exclusive. “Yeah, I think that’d be that kind of game,” said Booty. “From what we’ve seen of Outer Worlds, my hope is that that’s something we can build and that it really becomes an enduring franchise and it really starts to grow and we can help expand that.

“I think that it’s a great universe they’ve created and I think about what are the things that you need for a franchise to kind of bear weight? Like what can it withstand? Is it a narrative, is it a set of characters, is it a universe that’s big enough that you could start to add onto it? That’s what I love about what Halo has created. It can support all kinds of novels and fiction.”

This isn’t to say that Booty is opposed to multiplatform games from Obsidian or other studios that have been acquired. But Obsidian is currently working on multiple unannounced Xbox games, so it might be obligated to prioritize the Xbox One above all. Regardless, The Outer Worlds is coming to PS4, and PC as well as Xbox One on October 25th. A Switch version has also been announced.

On Xbox One, it will also be available at launch on Xbox Game Pass. Check out some gameplay here to see how the game’s choices and consequences can shake out.