It seems that Microsoft has extremely high hopes for Obsidian’s new title The Outer Worlds. In fact, Microsoft is so confident in the title’s success that they are already discussing a sequel. In a recent interview with Game Informer, head of Xbox studios Matt Booty expressed the company’s belief that the title has the potential to become “an enduring franchise.”
During the interview, Booty was asked if Microsoft has any plans to create The Outer Worlds 2. Booty responded by saying that “from what we’ve seen of The Outer Worlds, my hope is that that’s something we can build and that it really becomes an enduring franchise and it really starts to grow and we can help expand that.” Interestingly, it seems that Microsoft is considering making any sequels Xbox exclusives. Booty told Game Informer that he believes The Outer Worlds could be a franchise that Xbox helps to extensively build on in the future due to its large universe and narrative.
The Outer Worlds becoming an Xbox exclusive would certainly not be much of a stretch. After all, Microsoft acquired Obsidian in 2018 as part of its increasing game studios roster. Despite this, Booty acknowledges that making the series a Microsoft exclusive would not come without careful consideration. He says that much of the decision would depend on whether the series would benefit from being open to other platforms or be better supported by the resources Xbox can put into it. Additionally, the decision would also depend on if exclusivity suits the franchise as a whole.
Regardless of whether the series becomes an Xbox exclusive or not, it seems that Booty and the rest of Microsoft have high hopes for the game. Hopefully, this means we may see a sequel for the franchise on the new Xbox console after it releases in 2020. The Outer Worlds is set to release October 25.
