All Articles: The Outer Worlds

The Switch debut of Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds was one of the first games whose development was disrupted by the pandemic currently gripping the globe. Publisher Private Division had recruited Virtuous to bring the game to Nintendo’s console, but back in February, they temporarily shut down operations to protect their employees from possible exposure.

That brings us to today, and Obsidian has announced (via their official website) that The Outer Worlds will be released for the Switch on June 5:

We wanted to share an exciting update that we plan on launching The Outer Worlds for the Nintendo Switch on June 5th, 2020. As we prepare for another arrival of new colonists, we have some very important information for those making this journey, specifically for you colonists who prefer your goods in physical form: The retail version The Outer Worlds comes on a physical cartridge, and it will be accompanied by a day one patch that could be up to 6 GB. This patch will optimize gameplay, provide additional hi-res textures, and include other fixes to provide the employees of Halcyon with the best gameplay experience. Please ensure you have planned accordingly and have available space necessary for the patch.

In the same announcement, it appears that players who opt to purchase the Retail Edition of The Outer Worlds will need to download an additional patch to optimize the game on the Switch.

Private Division has just announced that the upcoming Nintendo Switch debut of The Outer Worlds has been indefinitely delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak in China.

The Outer Worlds was developed by Obsidian Entertainment, and it was originally released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in 2019. At the same time, Private Division contracted Virtuos, a Chinese developer that specializes in porting games to new platforms, to bring the game to the Switch sometime this year. But the outbreak has forced a temporary closure of their office, and they’ve been unable to continue work on the game, which means it’ll miss its previously-announced March 6 launch date:

We’re delaying @OuterWorlds on Nintendo Switch due to the coronavirus impacting the Virtuos team working on the port, to provide them enough time to finish development. We’ll now be releasing the physical version on cartridge. Once we have a new launch date, we’ll let you know!

— Private Division (@PrivateDivision) February 6, 2020

According to Private Division, everyone at Virtuos is doing OK, and they plan to announce a new release date soon. In the meantime, the publisher also confirmed that all retail copies of The Outer Worlds for the Switch will ship with a game cartridge in the box instead of the planned download voucher.

Obsidian has announced that The Outer Worlds will make its way to the Nintendo Switch on March 6. They shared the good news with their fans earlier today with a new post on their official website:

Greetings employees of Halcyon,
We are excited to share with you that a new wave of colonist are preparing to join us in the Halcyon Colony soon, as The Outer Worlds is coming to Nintendo Switch on March 6.

Whether you choose to zap foes with your shrink ray or charm them with smooth-talking abilities, we know you will make The Board proud. And the fact that you will be able to complete your tasks anywhere you go with the Nintendo Switch is something that makes The Board happy.

The Outer Worlds will be available on the Switch exclusively through the Nintendo eShop (though a Retail Edition packed with a download code will also be available).