Do you need to play The Outer Worlds 1 before 2?

The Outer Worlds 2 is set to launch, and a common question among players is: Should you play The Outer Worlds 1 before diving into the sequel? Well, the answer is no. You do not need to play the first game to understand its sequel.

The sequel comes with a fresh story, world, and characters, so players can enjoy it on its own. Those who played The Outer Worlds 1 might notice a few familiar details, but they aren’t crucial to understanding the game.

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You don’t need to play The Outer Worlds 1 to enjoy The Outer Worlds 2

The Outer Worlds 2 is a self-contained story that doesn’t depend on its predecessor's ending, despite sharing the same satirical sci-fi world. This is a standalone title with a fresh protagonist and no previous NPCs involved. The Outer Worlds 1 was set in Halcyon, a colony inches away from collapse, colonized by megacorporations.

The Outer Worlds 2 is set in a new world called Arcadia (Image via Xbox Games)

In this land, people struggled to survive thanks to food shortages and corporate control. On the other hand, The Outer Worlds 2 takes players to a new world called Arcadia, where the similar themes of corporate greed and faction politics continue, but in a different way, and with a new crisis afoot.

This time, three factions are warring to take control of strange dimensional rifts, which are breaking the planet apart and messing with space and time. Players familiar with the prequel will notice that the story riffs on some similar notes, but that’s just what defines The Outer Worlds overall as the designated space Fallout.

Players can get their hands on new weapons in the sequel (Image via Xbox Games)

The two advantages you get by having prior knowledge of the first game are familiarity with both its gameplay and world. In general, The Outer Worlds 2 makes some departures in character building by consolidating the number bloat with Skills present in the first game, but with similar level scaling and growth through skill points, perks, and gear.

Meanwhile, on the story front, it switches things up with some corporate consolidation - Auntie Cleo and Spacer’s Choice are now merged into Auntie’s Choice. But it isn't imperative to have foreknowledge of these two manufacturing companies to get a full experience. Everything you need to know, the sequel recaps organically.

Corporate consolidation - Auntie Cleo and Spacer’s Choice are now merged into Auntie’s Choice (Image via Xbox Games)

Check out: The Outer Worlds 2 Early Access release time countdown

The plot is also detached from the prequel, cementing it as a standalone title. Furthermore, the sequel brings plenty of new features absent from the first game, like double jump, third-person perspective, an improved mantling system, and more, giving players fresh ways to explore and fight.

Overall, you don’t need to play The Outer Worlds 1 to enjoy its sequel. The Outer Worlds 2 is all set to launch on October 29, 2025, across all platforms, including PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and Battle.net.