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Microsoft Now in Charge of The Outer Worlds, Private Division/Take-Two Won’t Be Involved in Future Iterations

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A day after Take-Two Interactive expressed its desire to be involved with The Outer Worlds‘ future iterations, Microsoft shot down its hopes by confirming that it’s taking over publishing duties as the owner of Obsidian Entertainment.

Interestingly, it doesn’t look like Take-Two was aware of this because comments made by president Karl Slatoff in a recent earnings call suggested that the company had plans to “participate in the franchise and whatever the future holds” for The Outer Worlds. “We’ll see what the future holds for it, but we do think it’s a long-term franchise and it is certainly something that we’re pleased with the results,” added Slatoff. “The downloadable content has been really very well received and we think the franchise is in outstanding shape at this point.”

A day later, original publisher Private Division – owned by Take-Two – reached out to Gamasutra to confirm that it will not be involved with the franchise going forward.

“Private Division is still supporting and marketing The Outer Worlds, including the upcoming release of Murder on Eridanos DLC on Nintendo Switch,” reads the statement provided to Gamasutra. “Moving forward, Obsidian and Microsoft will be publishing future iterations in the franchise, and we’re absolutely thrilled to see where they take it.”

Microsoft acquired Obsidian in 2018, but The Outer Worlds was already in development at the time and a multiplatform publishing deal with Private Division was already in place. With Microsoft now in charge, it’s unlikely that a future installment will land on any PlayStation platform.

[Source: Gamasutra]

The post Microsoft Now in Charge of The Outer Worlds, Private Division/Take-Two Won’t Be Involved in Future Iterations appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.


Starfield and The Outer Worlds 2 are Confirmed to be Xbox Exclusive, Won’t Come to PlayStation Consoles

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Rumors started circling last month that Bethesda’s much-anticipated Starfield was Xbox exclusive. The same rumors appeared about the sequel to Obsidian Entertainment’s The Outer Worlds. During the Xbox and Bethesda showcase today, both games were confirmed to be exclusive to Microsoft’s console and they will not be coming to PlayStation.

While this will be a disappointment to players, neither should be too much of a surprise. Microsoft acquired Bethesda and all of its studios in September for the large sum of $7.5 billion. While the majority of its long-term franchises are still coming to PlayStation platforms, Microsoft isn’t going to spend that amount of money and not produce any console exclusives. The good news is that existing PlayStation exclusivity deals will continue to be honored, with Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo continuing to launch first on PlayStation 5.

Microsoft also acquired Obsidian Entertainment in 2018 while The Outer Worlds was in development, although the game and its expansions were later released on PlayStation 4. At the time the IP was published by Private Division and its parent company Take-Two Interactive, but it was confirmed last month that Microsoft would be publishing all future installments in the franchise. The result is The Outer Worlds 2 was also confirmed to be exclusive to Xbox.

While the Xbox and Bethesda show produced plenty of Xbox exclusives, Sony chose not to take part in E3 2021 and the platform holder is yet to announce an event of their own despite rumors they may hold a larger event later this month or early in July. There was a smaller PlayStation State of Play event at the end of last month specifically to showcase Horizon Forbidden West gameplay, although the game is yet to get a release date. In the meantime, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart launched just a few days ago to critical acclaim.

The post Starfield and The Outer Worlds 2 are Confirmed to be Xbox Exclusive, Won’t Come to PlayStation Consoles appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Obsidian Entertainment Veteran/The Outer Worlds Composer Joins PlayStation Studios

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Obsidian Entertainment veteran and The Outer Worlds composer, Justin E. Bell, has announced that he has joined PlayStation Studios as Supervising Sound Designer.

Bell spent 11 years at Obsidian Entertainment, where he last worked as Audio Director. He also composed the scores for Grounded and Pillars of Eternity.

Bell announced his new role on Twitter, where he wrote:

Sony’s Hermen Hulst recently revealed that PlayStation Studios is expanding. The company is constantly on the lookout for talented developers and external partnerships, and given Bell’s previous work, this is a significant hire.

It’s also worth noting that Sony has been placing a special emphasis on audio design in PlayStation 5 games, with a focus on its Tempest 3D Audio engine.

A job advertisement for Supervising Sound Designer was published by PlayStation on LinkedIn just a week ago, and it reiterates Sony’s emphasis on the importance of sound design. The description further reads:

We are looking for a Supervising Sound Designer to join our award winning team to craft high quality audio content for 1st and 2nd party product development projects. As part of our team, you will have the opportunity to work with some of the most quality-driven developers in the industry and on some of the most exciting AAA games for PlayStation.

[Source: ResetEra, LinkedIn]

The post Obsidian Entertainment Veteran/The Outer Worlds Composer Joins PlayStation Studios appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Rumor: Fallout New Vegas Sequel in “Very Early Talks”

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The long-awaited sequel to Fallout: New Vegas could become a reality, though unfortunately not any time soon. Recent insider information indicates that a possible sequel to the open-world RPG is currently in “very early” talks at Microsoft, which now owns developer Obsidian Entertainment. While by no means a confirmation, folks at Microsoft seem keen on reviving the decade-old game.

When will Fallout: New Vegas 2 release?

It’s promising news, but by no means does it indicate anything concrete. The information comes from prominent industry insider Jeff Grubb, who revealed on his podcast that there is “interest and conversations happening” about a possible series revival. Grubb also clarified that any possible sequel would be “years and years away” as the game likely isn’t even in the pre-production stages. That being said, if Microsoft is truly showing interest in a Fallout: New Vegas sequel, getting fans excited about the prospect could be the very push that it needs to make it a reality.

Interestingly, it’s only been a few years since Obsidian Entertainment themselves shut down expectations of a sequel to the spin-off series back in 2018. The comment came just after reports revealed that Microsoft would acquire the developer, bringing it under the conglomerate’s ever-growing roster of game developers. Obsidian would later go on to release The Outer Worlds to critical and commercial success.

The same can’t be said about other, more recent Fallout releases. Bethesda Softworks (which Microsoft also now owns) even admitted that it had let fans down with Fallout 76, though stated that the experience had made them better developers in the long run. Meanwhile, Obsidian stated that it was disheartened to see The Outer Worlds compared to Fallout 76, and believed that Bethesda had the right to take the Fallout brand “in a different direction”. Now that they’re both under the same company, however, there’s a chance that the two companies could work together once more.

In other news, Square Enix has stated that the Babylon’s Fall Season 1 premium battle pass will be free for all players. Publisher Curve Digital has also revealed that The Ascent will release on PS4 and PS5 in March 2022.

[Source: Jeff Grubb via VGC]

The post Rumor: Fallout New Vegas Sequel in “Very Early Talks” appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

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God of War Rival Game Canceled By Obsidian

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Obsidian Entertainment was once developing a rival game to God of War that was inspired by Journey to the Centre of the Earth, but it got canceled before it was announced. While reasons weren’t given for the game’s cancelation, it was just one of the projects revealed by the studio’s founder Feargus Urquhart that didn’t make it to retail or digital stores.

Obsidian also canceled a Rick and Morty game

Players would be surprised if they knew exactly how many games hit the cutting room floor before they were even announced. In an interview with NME, Urquhart named four such games that we never knew existed before today. As well as the Journey to the Centre of the Earth-inspired game that would have gone head to head with God of War, Obsidian canceled an RPG based on The Walking Dead that couldn’t find a publisher, a Rick and Morty game that fell victim to the Microsoft acquisition, and a game based on the Cops reality show that nobody outside of the studio seemed to understand.

Now that Obsidian is a Microsoft-owned studio, it remains to be seen whether any of their future games will ever end up on PS5 or PS4 again. Neither the recently-released Pentiment nor the upcoming The Outer Worlds 2 will be available outside of Xbox, but there are rumors of a sequel to Fallout New Vegas.

The post God of War Rival Game Canceled By Obsidian appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

How to Get The Outer Worlds Spacer’s Choice on PS5 for Just $10

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The Outer Worlds Spacer’s Choice may be a full-priced remaster of the original game, which will be arriving in just a week on PS5, but you might be given a massive discount. If you already own The Outer Worlds and both DLCs, Peril on Gorgon and Murder on Eridanos, for PS4, then the Spacer’s Choice Edition will only cost you $9.99 for the upgrade. That’s quite a deal.

The Outer Worlds Spacer’s Choice increases level cap from 36 to 99

To know whether you have access to the upgrade, it seems as though the PlayStation Store will automatically detect whether you own The Outer Worlds base game on PS4 and the two DLCs. You will likely need to wait until the Spacer’s Choice PS5 release date of March 7 to see whether the upgrade is available to you, since the game doesn’t have any purchase options on the PS Store at the time of this writing.

While the price of the Spacer’s Choice Edition is not available on the PS Store yet, you can get a head start on the discount by purchasing The Outer Worlds on PS4 now (currently, at a 45% discount on Amazon).

In addition to graphical enhancements in this remaster, by updating the visuals to 4K 60 FPS, Obsidian Entertainment has made the companion AIs smarter and nearly tripling the level cap from 36 to 99. This will allow players to create crazy builds across the seven branches of the skill tree.

The post How to Get The Outer Worlds Spacer’s Choice on PS5 for Just $10 appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

The Outer Worlds PS5 Spacer’s Choice Edition Is So Busted That Players Want Refunds

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The Outer Worlds PS5 isn’t off to a good start. The Spacer’s Choice Edition, which is available on all current-gen consoles and PC, is apparently so busted that players are demanding refunds. The game’s performance issues plague all platforms.

Obsidian Entertainment apologized for The Outer Worlds PS5 issues

The Outer Worlds’ subreddit is full of threads complaining about the Spacer’s Choice Edition, with many players demanding refunds. Publisher Private Division‘s support team responded to some ticket submissions, promising players that their complaints have been passed on to the development studio.

Over on Twitter, developer Obsidian Entertainment has been responding to fans, apologizing for the issues.

Speaking of the PS5 specifically, The Outer Worlds suffers from severe stuttering, among a plethora of other serious issues. Using the Performance Mode, the game’s frame rate fluctuates so heavily that the game is almost unplayable.

It’s unclear if Sony or Private Division will offer refunds. We’ll update our readers when a patch is released.

The post The Outer Worlds PS5 Spacer’s Choice Edition Is So Busted That Players Want Refunds appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.


The Outer Worlds PS5 Gets First Performance Improvement Update Since Backlash

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The Outer Worlds update 1.1 is out – the first PS5 patch for Spacer’s Choice Edition since backlash ensued over the game’s performance. The update is only available on PS5 and PC at present. Xbox players have been asked to wait for a few days.

The Outer Worlds update 1.1 PS5 patch notes

The patch notes below cover some of the issues players have been reporting. Publisher Private Division has asked for patience as it addresses remaining concerns.

Top Community Issues:

  • Adjusted settings for Ultra and Very High graphic modes, improving experience for PC players on higher end graphics cards
  • Fixed issues with SSGI being set inappropriately high on PC affecting performance
  • Updated SSR values to improve cinematic mode on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation®5
  • Updated dynamic resolution on PC
  • Improved framerate in performance modes for both Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation®5

Performance:

  • PSO experience improved to mitigate hitching during shader compilation
  • SSGI auto settings updated preventing scenarios where it would toggle on unexpectedly

Stability:

  • Solved rare crash on PS5 in Roseway
  • Fixed chance for Xbox Series X|S consoles to crash during long syncs
  • Prevent temporary memory leaks from appearing in UI screens on Xbox Series X|S consoles

General:

  • Various HLOD improvements to reduce popping on all platforms
  • Fix many instances of flickering textures on all platforms
  • Reduce chance for characters hair to glow on all platforms
  • Fixed two instances of invisible enemies on all platforms
  • Fixed invisible trip mine beam on all platforms
  • Improved texture resolution on the Xbox Series S
  • Fixed skin shading issues seen on some companions on the Xbox Series S

The post The Outer Worlds PS5 Gets First Performance Improvement Update Since Backlash appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

The Outer Worlds 2 PS5 Version Is Still Being Decided On

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The Outer Worlds 2 PS5 Version Is Still Being Decided On

The Outer Worlds 2 was announced in June 2021 for Xbox Series X|S and PC, which was expected since Obsidian Entertainment is now part of Xbox’s stable of developers. But Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty said that the company still has decided on whether or not it will release an Outer Worlds 2 PS5 version.

The Outer Worlds 2 was announced as an Xbox and PC title

Booty mentioned this during the Federal Trade Commission hearing about Microsoft’s proposal to buy Activision. According to IGN, Booty said a “decision has not been made” one way or another on whether or not The Outer Worlds 2 will come to PS5.

He said that Xbox tends to keep franchises on the same platform family, implying that since The Outer Worlds came out on PlayStation 4 and later on PlayStation 5 through the Spacer’s Choice Edition, it’s possible the sequel will also make its way to PS5. This is somewhat borne out in recent Xbox Game Studios releases, as Minecraft Dungeons and Minecraft Legends released on PlayStation and Nintendo systems, while newer properties like Hi-Fi Rush, Redfall, and Starfield are all console exclusives on Xbox.

Of course, this does not confirm that The Outer Worlds 2 is coming to PS5. The game’s official website and listing on the Microsoft Store only list Xbox Series X|S and PC as platforms. However, it doesn’t rule out the possibility of it making its way to PS5 in some form in the future, which stands in stark contrast to MachineGames’ Indiana Jones title that was confirmed to be an Xbox and PC exclusive during the hearings.

The post The Outer Worlds 2 PS5 Version Is Still Being Decided On appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.





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