Square Enix Says Outriders Universe Is ‘More Than Just Window Dressing’

Square Enix has announced that its upcoming cross-gen title, Outriders, won’t be a generic sci-fi shooter and that its universe is “more than just window dressing.”

Over on the PlayStation Blog, the publisher acknowledged fans’ concerns about the influx of sci-fi shooters and explained what sets Outriders apart from the rest. Interestingly, Square Enix revealed that it has also heard from fans who think Outriders “is doing sci-fi wrong.”

Community Manager Toby Palm wrote:

When People Can Fly first envisioned Outriders and started putting the first pieces of it all together, the idea was to do sci-fi a little differently to the current day trend. One of the game’s basic principles is to meld the science fiction frontier setting of an unexplored, alien planet, with the visceral grittiness of warfare.

From day one the team had a strong focus on narrative and story and with Outriders we wanted to craft a science fiction universe which was far more than just window dressing. We want to build lore that has depth and creates discussion and conversation.

Palm said that Outriders‘ tagline “Leave Humanity Behind” has “several different layers” of meaning that players will understand as they play. We’re told that People Can Fly has written lore that spans 200 years – from 2020 to 2209 – which acts as the game’s premise, touching upon political and economic issues that led to the Earth’s demise. As the story unfolds, players will go through a “treasure trove” of additional lore because Outriders heavily relies on narrative.

Outriders will release in Q4 2020.

[Source: PlayStation Blog]