While Obsidian Entertainment is now owned by Microsoft, it’s upcoming interstellar RPG The Outer Worlds is not an Xbox One exclusive. That may not be the case for future games in the franchise. It seems that Microsoft sees potential in the franchise, and that The Outer Worlds 2 may be an Xbox exclusive.
Talking on the Game Informer Show, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty, stated that they saw The Outer Worlds as something that they hoped to build into an enduring franchise. As such, this makes any sequel to Obsidian’s upcoming RPG a prime candidate to turn into an exclusive. When prompted about Microsoft planning on hypothetical Outer Worlds 2 being a Microsoft exclusive, Booty agreed.
“Yeah, I think that would be that kind of game,” said Booty. “From what we’ve seen of Outer Worlds, my hope is that’s something that we can build and that it really becomes an enduring franchise and it really starts to grow and that we can help to expand that.”
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He continued, talking about how games like Halo, Forza, and Sea of Thieves fit the platform and how Outer Worlds could possibly have those same qualities.
“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?” mentioned Booty. “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?”
Not every game from a studio that Microsoft acquires ends up being an exclusive. Some, such as Minecraft, Psychonauts 2, and of course, The Outer Worlds (at least the first game) have ended up being multiplatform. Booty confirmed that they do let games remain multiplatform if they deem that doing so makes sense for it. Of course, for The Outer Worlds, there’s also the fact that it’s being published by Take-Two Interactive’s indie publishing arm Private Division.
The move to secure any sequels to The Outer Worlds as exclusives looks to be a particularly shrewd one. If the game does measure up to its potential, any players looking for more of it may be convinced to invest in an Xbox One, or more likely, the upcoming Project Scarlett. Although, it’s almost certain this hypothetical sequel would end up on PC as well, given Microsoft’s attitude towards the system.
In addition to all this, Microsoft is getting more than just sequels to The Outer Worlds from Obsidian. Booty also confirmed that the studio is also working on several other, unannounced titles for the Xbox.
