The Outer Worlds is one of the most colorful and bleak settings we've ever seen. Sure, adorable mascots can be found on almost every surface, but they speak less of a happy world and more towards the massive depravity in free will and moral order in the Halyceon Galaxy. Then again, this cluster of planets is literally at the far reaches of the Universe.
The Halyceon Corporations Board is the main "antagonist" of The Outer Worlds, and is comprised of 10 different companies working together. The most well-known throughout the game are Auntie Cleo's, Sublight Salvage, Rizzo's, C & P, and Spacer's Choice. But would you like to hear about some of the lesser-known companies? Or maybe some juicy secrets?
10 MSI Was Cut From The Board Because Of Their Future Potential
MSI or Monarch Stellar Industries was actually one of the ten original members of the Board. They realized that Monarch was too rough and tough for them to settle down on, so everyone left. And, as they were leaving, Sanjar Nandi took over MSI using a legal loophole so that there would still be civilization for those left behind.
Shortly after however, they were kicked out of the Board for no discernible reason. But, if the player asks the information broker up on Devil's Peak, it turns out the Board cut them out because they held too much power and potential with their new planet and worker-centric ideologies. Now it's up to us to decide MSI's future.
9 Spacer's Choice Are The Kroger Brand Merchants Of Outer Worlds
"It's not the best choice, it's Spacer's Choice!" Kind of like how supermarkets have their own "store-brand" versions of different products that are cheaper, Spacer's Choice is that store-brand idea incorporated into an entire company. Their weapons break/malfunction constantly, their armor is flimsy and weak, and their machinery needs constant maintenance.
We kept thinking that maybe the Spacer's Choice Vending Machines would sell better armor the further we got into the game, but nope. Low quality for a low price, that's their ideal, and we're surprised players have somehow managed to miss out on that key part of their identity.
8 Auntie Cleo's Are Prone To Secret Experiments In Horrible Labs
Most of the big corporations in The Outer Worlds dabble in a bit of everything. Each one has a certain line of products that are closely tied to their "brand." Rizzo's, normally, has wine, soda, candy, and sweet foods. Sublight Salvage is just a "waste management" service, at least on paper. So what about Auntie Cleo's? Well, they deal in pharmaceuticals primarily. But, inventing said pharmaceuticals isn't an easy process.
Since that entire field depends on blending different materials and chemicals perfectly, Cleo's is the company to go to for secret experiments, labs, and trials. Just look at Roseway! And nevermind the amount of "secret" labs we found of Auntie Cleo's throughout the game.
7 Spacer's Choice And Auntie Cleo's Are At Odds, Over Toothpaste
Funnily enough, both Spacer's Choice and Auntie Cleo's are relevant to this next entry, in the fact that they hate each other. It turns out, these two conglomerates are rivals. The first person we talk to outside of Phineas in the tutorial is a Spacer's Choice soldier who has to make sure we're not with Auntie Cleo's before allowing us to give him first aid!
The two of them are constantly at odds, and we can assuredly say that this rivalry is what led to the tragic events in Roseway. Why? Well, because Spacer's Choice offers a much cheaper blend of Cleo's Diet Toothpaste (depending on the players' choices at Roseway).
6 Sublight Salvage And Shipping Are The Mafia Of The Halcyon Galaxy
It's pretty clear just from one meeting with Lilya Hagen that she's crazy, but also that Sublight is into some dark and illegal stuff. They're a corporation made up of a network of freelancers and contractors who all deal in either transportation or waste disposal. Both of these are lies.
Sublight is a company that 100% works within the loopholes of the laws the Board puts in place in order to perform Illegal activities. Most of the time, they'll work for the Board themselves. All of this can be inferred from the get-go, but it's only ever confirmed through Lilya's Terminal and conversations with other bigwigs in the company like Catherine in Fallbrook.
5 Every Corporation Is Corrupt, But Spacer's Choice Is The Worst Towards Employee Individuality
It's not clear from the get-go, but most of the corporations in Outer Worlds aren't actually all that horrible to their employee's self-image. Sure, most of them make their associates work inhumane hours and walk through miles of bureaucratic red-tape, but they tend to avoid changing their image or forcing them to say certain things.
Spacer's Choice, on the other hand, that's what they're all about. Most Spacer's Choice enlisted professionals must say the slogan before any new conversation, must have the "official" haircut of the company, and must wear company attire. Don't believe us? Talk for two seconds with Martin on the Groundbreaker.
4 Earth May As Well Not Exist In This Universe
It's hinted at in the intro and directly told through late events in the story, but the title "Outer Worlds" is apt considering how far out this cluster of planets is. The Halcyon district is so far removed from Earth and the Milky Way that it was supposed to take the Hope an entire decade to travel there at faster-than-light speeds!
To demonstrate just how "out in the boonies" these planets are, messages to Earth take months just to arrive. Plus, there are no species from Earth that can survive out there! No pigs, no chickens, not even most plantlife! And, the events of the game hint that maybe that's not enough to keep us surviving.
3 Edgewater's Canned Saltuna Isn't As Good As It So Obviously Sounds
Most if not everyone we've talked to about the Edgewater section of the game ended up siding with the Deserters. I mean, who could betray a kindly old grandma for the sake of a monolithic corporation? We could. We're centered around being a corporate lackey the second time around. And what we found out through a later conversation with Reed, is that the Canned Saltuna in Edgewater is actually just a blend of mushrooms and Sprat meat.
Spacer's Choice has all but abandoned Edgewater, so they had to make due. Said canned fish require professional "flavorists," which is why it was so awful that Edgewaters one flavorist left to lead the Deserters. She made such great flavors! You know, flavors like Citrus and Spearmint?
2 There's Very Little Head-To-Head Between The Corporate Giants
What we were most surprised about after the end of our adventures in The Outer Worlds, is how little these corporations fought face to face. Very rarely were opposing Corporations living on the same planet even. To be fair, it's less like they owned planets and more like the Zones in the game that players could dock at are centered around individual corporations.
For example, Terra-2 had Spacer's Choice with Edgewater, Auntie Cleo's with Roseway, and even The Board themselves with Byzantium. In fact, the only time we really did any sort of "corporate espionage" that directly hurt another company, was when we worked for MSI to find illegal Board activity on Monarch!
1 Each Company Has Multiple Slogans And Jingles
Okay okay, so maybe it isn't exactly a secret, but each company has a jingle or slogan that's sung every time the player exits out of a vending machine. And we just wanted to take the opportunity to say that these jingles are both the best and worst things we've ever heard. Spacer Choice's "It's not the best choice it's Spacer's Choice" in particular is a work of satirical genius. But, they actually have multiple. "You've tried the best, now try the rest. Spacer's Choice" is another fantastic one.
Even C & P has "At C&P, we know our Cs and Ps!". Some of these are said after each vending machine purchase, some are hidden, but all of them are pure gold. See if you can find them all!