The Outer Worlds Gets First Update in Almost 3 Years

Surprise! Seven years after it launched — and almost six months after its sequel was released — The Outer Worlds is getting grenades.

Developer Obsidian confirmed it would “be pushing a couple of updates to The Outer Worlds” in a detailed post on Steam — the first since June 2023 — before introducing the explosive throwables, which are already a staple in The Outer Worlds 2, later this month.

As well as some tweaks to the Store pages — more on that in a bit — the studio has pushed out this first modest update merely to test the pipeline and “fix a few issues that are in the game,” with a larger patch bringing performance fixes, lighting changes, a “host of other quest and gameplay fixes,” and the grenades rolling out a little later.

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It’s this second patch that will trigger the store changes. From May 27, the base game edition of The Outer Worlds will be delisted, leaving just the Spacer’s Choice Edition. While this won’t impact anyone who already owns the base edition — Obsidian assures us that “it won’t be going anywhere” — it does mean that anyone looking to pick up the game on current-gen systems after May 27 will only get the newer edition.

To sweeten the deal, those with the vanilla game on PC (Steam, GOG, or EGS), PS5, or Xbox Series X/S can upgrade to the Spacer’s Choice Edition for free between now and May 27.

Still playing on a legacy system? Obsidian hasn’t forgotten about you, but the upgrade will work a little differently here. To upgrade from the Spacer’s Choice Edition from the base game on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, you will need to own the base game and both DLCs for The Outer Worlds. If you have those, you won’t need to use the hitherto paid upgrade path to get Spacer’s Choice Edition.

The base game and DLCs are also “getting pricing adjustments” to $24.99 and $14.99, respectively, on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

The surprise update to The Outer Worlds comes after The Outer Worlds 2 underperformed, and confirmation from Obsidian itself that it has no plans to continue the series with a third game. Avowed, the company’s other RPG released last year, also missed its targets — but Obsidian reportedly still has plans for more from its world of Eora, the same setting as Pillars of Eternity.

On a more positive note, Grounded 2 — yet another 2025 launch — was a hit. But of the three, it had the shortest (and almost certainly the cheapest) development period by far. Grounded 2 took just over two years to meet its early access launch, compared to the more than six years required for both Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2.

The Outer Worlds update 2.5.7.0 patch notes:

General

Companions’ status effects are no longer obstructed by their HP bars.
Shooting from the Storm Cannon repeatedly at a close target no longer results in severe FPS drops.
The heat effect coming out of the Unreliable will no longer stack up each time the player arrives in the ship’s proximity.
When the Font Scaling setting also scales up the UI icons appropriately.
Fixed “artillery cannon” typo.
Fixed “Shipping” typo in Fallbrook.
Players are now able to sleep in either of the two beds when exploring Ash’s old Outpost for ‘Little Memento’ on Monarch.
Players are now able to manually save while under the ‘Concuss’ status effect throughout the title.
Fixed an issue with the Super Scoper 3000 zoom where the zoom would not properly display.
Felix’s book “Systems and Serfdoms” now appears in his room when acquiring it in Roseway town.
The arrow is now greyed out when there are no more options.
Status Bar displays all relevant Status Effect icons.
The workbench now displays ownership of items when navigating through the workbench during gameplay.
The gate will now load correctly while moving from Rizzo’s Distillation Station to the Bridge.
The Item repair tutorial will no longer cause a freeze when switching to the inventory tab.
SAM’s weapons can no longer be taken and equipped by players.
Environment decorations no longer look the same as items the player can pick up.
Players no longer become stuck when falling between two crates at the Spaceport.
The sights are now centered after modding the Hunting Rifle Hyper with a Funtimes Barrel and a Gyro Sight.
Frey’s Bar Cart no longer disappears from Unreliable after revisiting Relay GB-23.
Mods have correct VFX when inspecting them in the inventory and then viewing them on the ground.
The shadows on the cans no longer appear dark when viewing them in the office in Phineas Lab.
A companion’s armor displays correctly if players wear a different type and modify it in the Workbench during gameplay.
All aptitudes are correctly shown being applied when selecting them and viewing the summary screen.
Mods display correctly for tinkered Elite Troop Armor.
Players will no longer encounter a stuck spot when jumping/crouching into the 2nd floor of the General Store with insufficient Mag-Picks in Edgewater.
Fixed a typo with the quest beacon text.
Udom Bedford and Vicar Max will now play correct dialogue when attempting to turn in Phineas for the first time.
The hacking and picking locks tutorial now triggers correctly when the user has a high lockpick skill during gameplay.
Players can no longer get stuck when jumping in between a crate and pipe by the fence at the Geothermal Plant.
Fixed an issue with the state of Anton on the Groundbreaker.
A Workbench in the Covert Lab correctly unlocks a ‘Point of Interest’ icon when moving near it.

Design

Players will now receive only one +10 from a Bonus Support perk when the companion is in the party.
Leveling to multiple of 5 in Player Ship now updates the Companion UI tabs to indicate new Perk point available.
Extend-O-Sight properly increases to both Effective and Max Range to 25%.
The Paranoid flaw description has been updated to “Repeatedly getting caught by guards has made you jittery, especially when roaming around Restricted Areas or sneaking.”

Quests

Sanjar and Zora are now only present inside the OSI Temple if the Player triggers a truce between them to happen.
Once players agree to get the Radiator parts, regardless of chosen dialog, they can talk to other NPCs about them.
Solution Vital now updates after killing Captain Irion on Scylla.
Players can give the NVTUR mech the collected phonographs and complete The Electric Fling quest.
The ‘Weathered Lockbox’ is now turned in when completing the ‘Little Memento’ quest in Amber Heights.
The user is able to pick up the phonograph while doing the ‘Electric Fling’ quest.
Sophia will no longer give the Player “Signal Point in Space” after the Player acquires the targeting module.
The quest objective ‘Speak to Spencer Woolrich’ no longer remains active if the user speaks to Bellhop Owens and retrieves the security footage first.
During BOLT with His Name, Huxley will no longer be invisible during the conversation after releasing her from the locked room.

Performance

FPS Performance improvements:
- When exploring Fallbrook.
- When in conversation with Percival Platt.
Performance has been improved when exploring Roseway, Eridanos, Monarch, Emerald Vale or Gorgon for the first time.
Player can no longer fall through the ground while walking from islands to the Grand Colonial Hotel.
Performance has been improved in tutorial area, where first Marauder enemies appear.
Performance has been improved in Emerald Vale Junkyard POI.
Framerate will no longer steadily drop as the player is continuously shooting onto any metal surface.

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Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.