As it stands, Xbox could have an incredible year in 2025. While only Avowed has a concrete release date, it could be joined by The Outer Worlds 2 (also from Obsidian Entertainment), South of Midnight (Compulsion Games), Doom: The Dark Ages (id Software), Towerborne (developed by Stoic, currently available in Steam Early Access), and Fable (Playground Games). While some of these titles could still be delayed, it’s an impressive line-up even if it were spread across two years.
Obsidian Entertainment confirmed it was working on The Outer Worlds 2 a few years ago, but at The Game Awards 2024, it announced a 2025 release date. This was a big surprise given that Obsidian is also launching Avowed in February 2024. Notably, Avowed was delayed into February to “balance out the number of games on Xbox’s Game Pass service,” according to Phil Spencer. Given this, it does make more sense, but ultimately, Avowed will still play an important role in The Outer Worlds 2‘s presence next year. With it set to release next year, though, it’s important fans keep their expectations in check.
Avowed Will Play the Guiding Hand in Early 2025
Because Avowed releases in February, fans can expect most of Xbox and Obsidian’s marketing to be focused on it in the early year. Avowed will dominate the conversation week to week, at least for the first 2-3 months of the year. While it’s hard to predict when The Outer Worlds 2 will come out, the smart money says near the end of 2025. Once Avowed has shipped, some time passes, and Obsidian is ready to push The Outer Worlds 2, that’s when fans can expect to hear more about it, likely in a similar cadence too. Looking at the timeline, fans will probably hear more about The Outer Worlds 2 around summer and maybe just a little bit before then.
Will The Outer Worlds 2 Be at Xbox’s Rumored January Direct?
Xbox has held a developer direct in January for the past two years, and rumors suggest a third one is going to happen in January 2025 as well.
If so, then Xbox has a lot to show off – especially if the Oblivion remake rumors are true. As such, it would not be surprising to see The Outer Worlds 2 there as well (if it turns out to be true), but it will likely have a small presence compared to other games. Around Summer Game Fest is when the floodgates for The Outer Worlds 2 will likely open.
The Build to The Outer Worlds 2’s Release
Once Xbox and Obsidian decide to start pushing The Outer Worlds 2, there’s still so much left to reveal and that should make for an exciting cycle. Very few concrete details are known about the game.
- The Outer Worlds 2 features a new solar system with a new cast.
- Obsidian has said it will feature more weapons, better visuals, and an increased focus on action.
- The protagonist is an Earth Directorate Agent.
- The story revolves around rifts potentially destroying a colony during a war between factions.
The Outer Worlds 2 has received two trailers, showing off a tone and aesthetic very much in line with the first game, but also poking humorously at its own development. While that tongue-in-cheek approach will likely continue, fans can expect the normal retinue of trailers, interviews, and marketing around its world, story, characters, and protagonist. Luckily, as an Obsidian RPG and a sequel, fans can have some reasonable expectations about that.
- World: There’s only a handful of planets in The Outer Worlds 1, so it’s likely to be similar in size here. However, Obsidian has said that The Outer Worlds 2 would be twice as big, but what that means exactly remains to be seen. On top of that, twice as big could mean a few things: twice as many planets, the same number of planets with twice the content, etc.
- Story: Players can expect Obsidian to detail what the rifts are, the standard enemies involved, and the factions at war. They probably won’t be deep dives, but it’ll be interesting to learn about these factions and how players relate to them.
- Characters: Obsidian excels at companion-based RPGs. Avowed features four companions and The Outer Worlds 1 had six. Somewhere in this ballpark should be expected, each with their own personalities, quests, and story. I’d also bet these companions related to the factions at war. However, I would not bet on The Outer Worlds 2 having romance. That’s just not an Obsidian feature.
- Protagonist: Players can expect character customization and progression to be somewhat detailed ahead of its launch.
Of course, there are two caveats with these expectations, suggesting they remain in check for some time. First, it’s not certain what the exact scope of The Outer Worlds 2 is or what twice as big exactly means. Although a reasonable expectation is similar to Avowed and The Outer Worlds 1, it could genuinely be bigger, but only time will tell. This also doesn’t account for any surprises yet to be revealed regarding the game. The second is the presumption that The Outer Worlds 2 will make its 2025 release date. Delays can happen; any game can be delayed at any time for any number of reasons. While it’s exciting that it’s possible to get The Outer Worlds 2 in 2025, it’s hard to say for sure that it will and that could possibly throw a wrench in everything.
If Obsidian does release it in 2025, it’s going to be a great year for the company and for Xbox. Even if it doesn’t, it’s so exciting to know that two Obsidian RPGs are possible all within two years, as the furthest it would likely get delayed is into 2026.
