Outriders is the upcoming sci-fi 3rd person looter shooter that is being developed by From People Can Fly, the studio responsible for Gears of War Judgement and Bulletstorm. Outriders is a co-op looter shooter where players can drop in at any time as they attempt to uncover the secrets of this new dark universe they have arrived into. Recently, The Outerhaven was provided the opportunity to partake in a People Can Fly Interview regarding the game and ask People Can Fly Bartek Kmita (Creative Director) and Piotr Nowakowski (Lead Game Designer) a few questions.
Keith Mitchell – When Outriders was first announced, many assumed the game would be a Game as a Service. Which has been something that People Can Fly has been quick to state otherwise. What’s the key difference?
PCF – We first thought about making the game a GaaS (Game as a Service), but we realized we didn’t like this model during development. That’s not to say that GaaS is a bad model, but we wanted to give the players of the game the entire package. The GaaS model works just fine for other games, but we felt it wouldn’t work with the vision we have for Outriders. As such, Outriders is not a Games as a Service.
Keith Mitchell – I’m sure you’ve been asked why did you choose to do another shooter game. Do you think there is enough room in the genre for another game? What separates Outriders from something like Destiny or The Division?
PCF – We’ve seen the comparisons, but we wanted to point out that while there’s a similarity between this and Destiny, mainly because they are shooters, that’s it. This game is more similar to Diablo, a game where players run around, completing quests, finding loot, and enjoying themselves. We also have crafted the game to tell a story in regards to the character you’re playing. We want players to understand why they are playing that character and why the story is important.
Keith Mitchell – During the different broadcasts, we’re shown a town where players can do things like pick up missions, buy items, and whatnot. How interactive is this town, and will there be other locations like this in the game?
PCF – There will be cities you’ll encounter in the game, many of which will not be connected. But there will be locations in these cities such as shopkeepers, missions, etc. However, as you travel out to these cities, you’ll do so via a caravan that acts as your central hub.
Keith Mitchell – Will the PC hardware specs that have been listed for Outriders change, or these the final hardware specs for the PC? And do you know what GPU will be required to run the game at 4K?
PCF – At this moment, we don’t feel comfortable saying if the current hardware specifications will change or not. This also goes for the GPU required to play at 4K. As we’re the designers, this decision is left up to our hardware guys. Luckily, they are hardcore PC gamers, and they’re constantly looking at the hardware specs, trying to push the game as hard as possible. So, for now, no, we can not provide an answer for that. Only because if we do, and it changes, we’ll definitely hear about it afterward.
(Note: the PC version supports ultrawide monitors, dynamic scaling, DLSS, and UI customization options. It also will support cross-play with the console versions of the game.)
Keith Mitchell – A game like Outriders depends on several factors to keep players interested. Have you planned content that will keep players busy long after they’ve expired the end game content?
PCF – A number of our staff are players who understand that a game that doesn’t offer content after the endgame could be a problem. We have plans for this, and we have made sure that players will still have plenty to do after the endgame. For example, there will be more than enough in terms of collecting gear to allow players to create the ultimate character—the game inside of the game, the meta, so to speak.
Thanks for your time, and I’m looking forward to the demo. I don’t know what class I’ll be playing, but I’m excited.
Outriders is set for an April 1st, 2021 release date, with a beefy demo being released on February 25th, 2021. Outriders will be playable on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), and Stadia.
