Outridersis now out in the world on every available platform. If you’re into gaming at all, you probably know this already since the Square Enix / People Can Fly title is pretty hard to miss. Billed as an RPG-shooter and boasting the “full experience in the box on Day One,” the sci-fi action title sees the last vestiges of humanity attempting to colonize a hostile planet. To survive, you’ll need your wits, your gear, and maybe even your friends.
WhileOutriderscan absolutley be enjoyed as a solo experience, it’s the multiplayer/crossplay aspect of the game that has a lot of online and ever-connected gamers excited. One such platform bringing unique multiplayer aspects to the game is Google’s cloud-gaming service Stadia. And we had a chance to talk to the team behind the platform and the game itself to learn about just that.
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Bartek Kmita, Creative Director at Square Enix, andDan Cary, Senior Product Manager at Stadia, shared their insight and expertise on all thingsOutriderswhen it comes to the game’s unique aspects on the Stadia platform. Though State Share, which has been a feature of recent games likeHitman IIIandPixelJunk Raiders, will not be included onOutriders, another feature called Stream Connect will be. That and more comes to the game on Stadia, and we covered it all in the following interview:
First of all, happy to hear thatOutriderswill take advantage of Stadia’s Stream Connect feature. Can you talk a bit more about how this tech will work and what it will allow players to do?
Dan Cary: Stream Connect lets game developers stream one player’s game directly into another’s in real time. It’s really useful for games likeOutridersthat require close coordination between teammates since it lets you see exactly what your friends are seeing in game. If you’ve ever been frustrated by teammates saying that there’s an enemy “right there” when you’re playing online, then you’re going to love being able to see what they mean for once.
Early fans of Outriders are hoping that the new looter-shooter has plenty of content to keep coming for years. What are Square Enix and Stadia’s long-term plans when it comes to your Outriders partnership?
Bartek Kmita:Outridersis not a Games as a Service title; you get the full experience in the box on day one. With that in mind, there’s not going to be a series of content drops following the release ofOutriders, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t do anything more either. We have many more stories to tell in this universe we’ve created, and if the game is successful, we’d love to do a lot more with the world ofOutriders.
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Other than Stream Connect, what benefits does Stadia have over the competition when it comes to playing graphically intensive games likeOutriders?
Bartek Kmita: Stadia is really exciting to us because of the freedom it affords the player, you’re able to play on virtually any screen wherever it may suit you, and completely free from worrying about the processing power of any hardware.
Dan Cary: With a game likeOutriders, you won’t want to put it down - and with Stadia, you won’t need to. Stadia unlocks the ability for gamers to play on all kinds of endpoints, at their own convenience. And because we host the instances and hardware, players don’t need to worry about limits on their end.
As for in-game controls, we also allowOutridersplayers to toggle between a performance or high-resolution mode, which enables the game to prioritize what is important for the player.
What have you learned from recent games that attempted to become the nextDestinyorDiablo? What can you say to fans who are concerned thatOutriderswill suffer some of the same setbacks?
Bartek Kmita: We didn’t really look at the games that many might call our competitors much at during the development ofOutriders, we’re not a Games as a Service, and we’re not even just a looter-shooter, we are an RPG-Shooter, which means our values and intentions are fundamentally different. We’re giving players a complete experience, a strong story campaign, deep and flexible character customization, and intense 3rd person shooter action where you can use your powers as much as you use your guns.
What are you most looking forward to seeing from players who choose to playOutriderson Stadia?
Bartek Kmita: We’re really interested in seeing how players develop their characters, what kind of builds they come up with and what they find to be the best or most fun weapons and skills. It’ll also be super interesting to see what Stadia players can use the Stadia Stream Connect feature to do and what kind of tactical applications they come up with!
Outriders is now available to play on all platforms, including Stadia.
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