Obsidian Entertainment CEO says development of upcoming Xbox RPG The Outer Worlds 2 is "going really well"

The Outer Worlds 2 announce trailer image
The Outer Worlds 2 was announced at E3 2021 with a funny trailer and little else. (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

What you need to know

  • Xbox studio Obsidian Entertainment is currently working on multiple projects, including  fantasy RPG Avowed and a science-fiction sequel, The Outer Worlds 2.
  • Speaking with the Hit the Limit Break podcast, Obsidian Entertainment CEO Feargus Urquhart shared that work on The Outer Worlds 2 is "going really well."
  • Feargus added that Obsidian struggled early on with COVID, and that the studio considered canceling projects to focus entirely on Avowed, but was able to come together and find the right balance eventually. 

Even if it's a ways off, it sounds like another science-fiction Xbox role-playing game (RPG) is shaping up nicely. 

Speaking with Tom Caswell on the newly-launched Hit the Limit Break podcast (thanks, @HazzadorGamin), Obsidian Entertainment CEO Feargus Urquhart explained that development on The Outer Worlds 2 is "going really well," with the team coming together and figuring out how to support development simultaneously with multiple projects, including the studio's upcoming fantasy RPG Avowed.

"I've actually been really impressed. We had a really hard time at the studio in COVID," he says. Urquhart went on to share that Obsidian was having a very hard time in the early months of COVID figuring out how to handle different projects, including briefly considering just putting the entire studio on Avowed.

"I appreciate Microsoft and the teams and everybody and that we kinda said 'No, we will get there. We will get there with all these games. Are they gonna be on the timelines that we originally thought? No. But we're gonna get there,'" he says. "And I think that's proven, right? Grounded turned out awesome, Pentiment turned out awesome, Avowed is gonna be great, Outer Worlds 2 is looking incredible." 

You can listen to the full podcast below, though you do need to be aware that it was recorded before Avowed was officially delayed to February 2025.

“We were a crappy developer”: Obsidian studio head Feargus Urquhart on state of gaming industry - YouTube “We were a crappy developer”: Obsidian studio head Feargus Urquhart on state of gaming industry - YouTube
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In the full podcast, Urquhart touches on several other topics, including the nature of the Fallout TV series giving the franchise a resurgence, Xbox studio closures, and more. 

When will The Outer Worlds 2 launch?

Avowed features creatures endemic to the world of Eora. (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

The Outer Worlds first launched in 2019, giving players a solar system to explore and a story to progress in classic Obsidian role-playing game fashion, including options for double-crossing the different factions and corporations that dominated nearby life. 

The Outer Worlds 2 was first announced at E3 2021 with a tongue-in-cheek trailer poking fun at how little work had actually been accomplished on the game so far. Since then, Obsidian has released co-op survival game Grounded and the truly unique medieval narrative game Pentiment, while the studio's next big Xbox game, Avowed, is slated to launch on Feb. 18, 2025. 

There's been few updates on The Outer Worlds 2, bar Feargus's comments, so it's hard to gauge exactly when the game will arrive. Depending on the scope and level of improvements the team is aiming to implement, it's certainly possible that we could see it arrive in 2026, but we'll have a better idea of what to expect when we learn more.

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Analysis: I will be eagerly waiting

Obsidian is a storied developer for good reason, and I'm eagerly looking forward to both The Outer Worlds 2. Hopefully we won't be waiting too much longer for more information on the latter, but as someone that really enjoyed the first game, I'll just remain excited for now. 

In the meantime, I'm certainly also looking forward to Avowed, which is coming to Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC next year. Like all Xbox first-party games, it's also launching day one in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Samuel Tolbert
Freelance Writer

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.

  • King Mustard
    The Outer Worlds was great. It was basically Fallout 3 / 4 but set in space.
    Reply
  • fjtorres5591
    Obsidian developers are clearly brilliant but Urquhardt doesn't get his full due for running the operation smoothly and drama free (so far). Not surprised to hear that in addition to their inhouse efforts, they are helping bring in STATE OF DECAY 3.

    XBOX is serious about getting their various studios to share their areas of excellence to make everybody's games better. Its early days but the approach makes sense.

    Now if only they'd let Obsidian take another crack at Fallout...
    Reply