Critics Rave, Steam Shrugs: The Outer Worlds 2’s Big Leap Fizzles
Obsidian Entertainment’s long-awaited return to sci-fi lands this week with The Outer Worlds 2, a sequel critics hail as a major upgrade—but its Steam liftoff is sputtering, failing to match even the first game’s launch.
The Outer Worlds 2 finally showed up this week, and on paper it is exactly what Obsidian fans wanted: a bigger, sharper, more confident return to their snarky sci-fi. Critics are into it. Players are mostly happy. And yet... the Steam launch is oddly soft. Here is what the numbers actually say, why they look that way, and what it probably means.
The numbers are down, even compared to the first game
Per SteamDB, The Outer Worlds 2 topped out at 13,264 concurrent players on Steam in its early days. That is notably under the first game, which peaked at 20,349 on Steam back in the day. The weird part: the 2019 original did not even launch on Steam; it was an Epic Games Store exclusive for a year and still ended up with a higher Steam peak after it finally arrived.
To add to the eyebrow raise, a popular stats-tracking account pointed out on October 30, 2025 that it is currently trailing Avowed on Steam. Not exactly the headline Obsidian was hoping to see during launch week.
Critically, it is a win
On the review side, the sequel is landing well. It sits at an 83 on Metacritic, and Steam user reviews are marked 'Very Positive'. Reviewers are calling it one of Obsidian Entertainment's most ambitious RPGs to date, with larger worlds, more factions, and deeper companion dynamics, all while doubling down on the series' corporate-greed satire. On quality, the sequel looks like a clear step up.
The tech stuff is messy (especially on PC)
This is where things get bumpy. Players are reporting save file corruption, crashes, and performance hiccups on PC. There is also a recurring bug that can block saving progress entirely. The game runs on Unreal Engine 5, and a lot of folks are seeing the usual UE5 stutter when you hit larger spaces or land on a new area. None of that kills the game, but it is the kind of launch noise that convinces PC players to wait for patches.
So why are Steam numbers soft if the game is good?
"Anybody with Game Pass is not going to buy this game. Full stop."
That Reddit comment pretty much nails the core issue. As an Xbox first-party release, The Outer Worlds 2 hit Game Pass on day one, which means millions of subscribers can jump in without buying it on Steam. Stack that with a few other factors and the picture gets clearer:
- Day-one Game Pass likely siphoned a big chunk of the Steam audience to subscriptions.
- A midweek launch is not ideal for building an early concurrent-players spike.
- Full-price fatigue is real this year; there has been plenty to play without spending $70.
- Player habits have shifted: a lot of us wait for patches, discounts, or just play through subs.
- Early PC issues (stutter, crashes, save bugs) give cautious players a reason to hold off.
The bigger picture
Games are not movies: opening-weekend style metrics do not tell the whole story anymore. With subscriptions, fast discounts, and frequent post-launch patches, a slow-burn curve is becoming normal even for well-reviewed AAA releases. The Outer Worlds 2 looks like a strong game that will find its audience; it just might not flash a giant Steam peak while everyone is busy trying it on Game Pass or waiting for fixes and sales.
Have you started The Outer Worlds 2 yet? If you are on PC, how wild are the stutters for you?