The cooperative multiplayer looter shooter action-RPG Outriders is just days away from its big release. Outriders had a notable presence at Square Enix's digital direct event, and fans can't wait to get their hands on it.
Outriders is shaping up to be a vastly different looter shooter experience compared to the other notable titles in the genre. With a solid gameplay loop that traces its root back to the Gears of War franchise, Outriders also seems focused on providing a narrative-driven experience. Fortunately for fans excited to get their hands on the game as soon as possible, Square Enix has revealed the pre-load and launch time for various platforms across the world.
Xbox players will be able to pre-load the game starting today, March 25, although no specific time has been confirmed yet. Earlier this month, Square Enix confirmed that Outriders will also release day one on Xbox Game Pass. Unfortunately, no pre-load time for Game Pass users has been confirmed. As for PlayStation, pre-loading will start 48 hours before the game's launch.
PC players on the other hand, whether they pre-ordered Outriders on Steam or Epic Games Store, don't get to pre-load the game anytime soon. Steam is still figuring out pre-load options and will reveal more info in the upcoming week. As for Epic Games, pre-loading isn't possible at the moment.
It seems Outriders won't have a global unified launch on consoles. Square Enix has confirmed that the game will be unlocked at midnight on April 1 in the respective countries. This means that some players will get their hands on Outriders a few hours early than the west. As such, players looking to go in blind should avoid social media platforms for any kind of spoilers.
On PC, however, Outriders will launch globally at the same time. Stadia, Steam, and Epic Games Store users can start playing Outriders on April 1 at 5 PM BST or 9 AM PST. It seems PC users will have to wait at least 12 hours before they join the fight to save humanity. While this may come off as disappointing to some, Square Enix has assured that this is being done to combat any launch day issues.
Unlike most looter shooters out there, Outriders aims to deliver a solid co-op RPG experience with a focus on PvE content rather than PVP. At launch, the game offers a hefty single-player campaign that will take over 25-30 hours to beat. While it's still early to predict whether Outriders' focus on both its narrative and gameplay will result in a coherent experience, the recent free demo did give a glimpse of such a possibility.
Outriders will release on April 1 for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Reddit