Obsidian Entertainment has been quite active for the past few years, and this trend was only confirmed earlier today. At E3, the company showed off the new content announced for Grounded and announced The Outer Worlds 2. Many games were announced or received updates today at E3, including titles the caliber of Starfield, Stalker 2, and more, but The Outer Worlds 2 was one of those that stole the show.
While the trailer for The Outer Worlds 2 is self-aware, meaning Obsidian called out various and hilarious development bits, the official Twitter account for the game did provide fans with a few more clues. As a matter of fact, it seems like The Outer Worlds 2 is pulling off something that feels similar to what Mass Effect: Andromeda did, and that is leaving its setting behind. Mass Effect: Andromeda boldly left the Milky Way galaxy behind to explore the titular Andromeda Galaxy, while The Outer Worlds 2 will leave the Halcyon star system behind in order to also pursue something new.
Major Changes For The Outer Worlds 2
The Outer Worlds 2 is probably going to try something bold and unique with this new star system that fans know nothing about yet and, as the trailer itself states, maybe neither do developers at this stage. This, combined with the fact that The Outer Worlds was all wrapped up in terms of its story at the end of the game, makes the setup for The Outer Worlds 2 all the more interesting and full of potential.
Mass Effect: Andromeda takes place 600 years after the events of the original trilogy, and while the background from the other games in the series is important here, the fourth installment does have its own setup and story. The Outer Worlds 2 is likely to do the same, even if it's just shifting star systems, starting with the same premise as the first game.
Considering that The Outer Worlds 2 will not retain the crew from the first game, it is safe to assume that beloved companions like Parvati won't be returning in the sequel. Changing the crew and moving the action and the setting to a whole new star system means that what is left for The Outer Worlds 2 to be called a sequel are the baseline plot elements highlighted in the previous chapter. The unique style of The OuterWorlds is seemingly going to remain the same as before despite all these changes, and the funny trailer that released today proves just that.
Overall, it looks like The Outer Worlds 2 changing everything is not necessarily a bad thing, and players will most likely still be able to find Easter eggs from the first game and some returning elements. Whether gameplay will change too is probably too soon to tell, but it looks like next year would be a good time for having a proper trailer from Obsidian.
The Outer Worlds 2 is in development for PC and Xbox Series X.