Outward 2 Launches in Summer 2026 for PC - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 October 2025 / 2,857 Views
Developer Nine Dots Studio announced Outward 2 will launch for PC via Steam in summer 2026.
"With Outward 2, we finally have the means to deliver the vision we had for the game—a believable and grounded adventurer experience," said Nine Dots Studio CEO and creative director Guillaume Boucher-Vidal.
"We kept the same ingredients, stayed true to our vision and improved on what was not up to what we wanted—our combat system, immersion and character creator. When we started working on Outward in 2015 with our Kickstarter, we wanted to create the ultimate simulation of an adventurer’s life. With a small team of 11 dedicated people, we surpassed expectations and delivered something greater studios could not have achieved. With Outward 1 we learned a lot from our players, we improved from their feedback and gave them what they wanted with our downloadable content. We stayed true to our vision that they loved while elevating the experience of living a true adventurer’s life. Much better graphics, better immersion and better combat."
View the release window trailer below:
Read details on the game below:
The original Outward, which eclipsed three million players earlier this month, challenged conventional open-world RPGs by trading the typical power fantasy for an adventure that demands preparation, persistence, and tactical execution. Outward 2 takes the formula that gathered a dedicated community and injects it with new and enhanced features fueled by the same intention and effort the developers ask of its players as they embark.
An Average Joe On A Remarkable Journey
You’re not a hero of legend. Shape your modest and meager beginnings through three distinct starting scenarios and eleven backgrounds, which will determine where to start in this brutal world. Whether you’re a devout worshipper of Elatt trying to strike it rich as a miner or a vagrant deadbeat in Simeon’s Bastion, the world of Aurai will not be kind… not even in defeat. If you’re knocked out, your journey continues, and you must live with the consequences. You could be robbed and left to rot, be saved by a kind passerby, wake up in town badly injured, or… worse.
A Living, Evolving World
A full-year seasonal cycle transforms the world of Aurai. Merchants and other NPCs relocate, frozen rivers become traversable in winter, and more. Comprising of four distinct areas, regions will feature their own biomes, seasons, and specific gameplay. From the blizzards of the Gilded Mountains to the acid rains in the Gathes of Catharsis, players will find a renewed challenge every time they travel.
Growth Through Mastery
Every factor in Outward 2 molds your playstyle. Your tactical choices as a player, from the weight and material of your armor to particular weapons you use, are reinforced by the new Exercise system, where passive skills will spark and grow based on how you play. Seek out special trainers scattered around Aurai, who will teach you how to survive the most brutal encounters for a fee.
Ritual Spellcasting and Tactical Combat
Wielding magic in Outward 2 is no mere button press. Cast spells through rituals, like sending a fire stone into the air to create a ring around you that allows you to empower your skills with deadly flames. Challenging combat, where every weapon has its own distinct moveset, is further enhanced in the sequel with a larger variety of tools and weapon combinations, along with animations that bring more fluidity and control to players. Major combat improvements were cultivated based on extensive player feedback from the original.
Intentional Inventory Management
Your backpack is your lifeline, and every space within is worth its weight in gold. Pack provisions, potions, weapons, and camping gear for an expedition, but manage it carefully as you gather more along the way. Some discoveries won’t be worth the precious space. In a fight, you may want to drop your backpack to attack and evade more deftly. The sequel adds a mule you may earn to carry your wares throughout your journey, but its vulnerability may influence your path as well. Weigh each decision carefully.
Two-Player Split Screen and Online Cooperative
Aurai is a grueling place, but you mustn’t go alone. Plan and prepare alongside a friend, covering each other’s weaknesses and marrying your strengths. Teamwork expands the opportunities and options for tackling the many challenges you will face in Outward 2.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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As a huge fan of first one, I can't wait.
This IP is probably never going to be big - it's fairly niche action-RPG game that combines exploration, survival and action RPG in just the right amounts not to be another survival game (which is not, it is exploration-RPG) yet to make you really be careful what you do and realize you're just an adventurer, not a (super)hero - I often felt, while playing the first one, as if I was playing one of the old (or old school inspired) TTRPGs that puts you in the shoes of commoner that's trying to find their luck and riches in a harsh world.
If you like open world RPGs, but you're not afraid to be lost often, since there is no indicator where you are on the map, and actually need to learn your surroundings, if you like ideas behind old Gothic games and their world and factions, if you think things like sprinting or fighting is something that tires you and you're fine with loosing part of the stamina bar every time you exert yourself due to fatigue (and likewise health bar every time you suffer any kind of damage), if you think that drinking unsafe water that might give you disease (and you need to drink water to stay alive) is great mechanic in exploration game, and most (at least for me), if you want to experience grand adventure in local split screen coop (the way I've played original), then this one is right up your alley.
Nine dots has confirmed Outward 1 has sold 3 million copies, so already bigger than niche? Amazing game, especially relative to the size of the studio that made it
Ha, thanks, I didn't know that - I haven't checked in a really long time, last number I know was 1 million., and that was long ago. I'm assuming most of the sales were at much lower price, but still...
The reason I think it will remain niche is due to its design philosophy which is not in line with modern mainstream trends - you have a lot of folks who heard of it, tried it and just can't get it, and Steam reviews are mixed due to that. Oh, and that it looks really outdated, even by a standards of previous gen doesn't help. Then again, much of it can be said for Souls, and that went mainstream...eventually.
But it seems there is enough of people who really love it (myself included, faults and all), and I'm glad they are sticking to core principles established in first game - not every game needs to cater to wider market,
I'm also one of those people who dropped it because I found it to be very clunky and hard to get. But I wholeheartedly agree with what you're saying about not every game needing to cater to the wider market. So I think I should probably give it another try, especially because I really enjoy Gothic 1/2/3 every few years and your review sets me up with probably way more realistic expectations from those I had prior to playing the game for the first time.
Yeah, it's a bit janky, well just like Gothic I suppose. Just don't expect outright Gothic though - while there are clear inspirations and overall vibe (that's what initially got me into it), Outward is fairly unique in what it does, being mix of Gothic type RPG with some added survival elements and lot of focus on exploration, but without ever becoming survival/crafting game that are dime a dozen these days.
I kept looking for game like that after I've finished it back in 2019, and honestly, couldn't find much, especially one that supports local (or online) coop (which makes the game all the more enjoyable), so can't wait for sequel.
