Final month, developer Folks Can Fly introduced that work on a sport codenamed Gemini was being suspended over points with the writer concerning fee and communication. The writer was believed to be Sq. Enix, and followers speculated that the undertaking in query was a sequel to Outriders, a surprisingly good 2021 loot shooter. In accordance with new reporting, Gemini was certainly Outriders 2 and the recording of movement seize for the sport’s sci-fi story was underway when it was canned.
Information first got here by the use of TheThumbWars which reported that the sequel was “almost completed” earlier than it was placed on ice over disputes with Sq. Enix. A report from Insider Gaming corroborated that Gemini is Outriders 2, however reported, based mostly on growth supplies it reviewed, that Folks Can Fly was nonetheless in the course of recording movement seize for the third-person shooter. In accordance with TheThumbWars, the undertaking’s builders didn’t actually know concerning the writer’s points till it was being shelved.
The primary Outriders was a grim shooter about settlers on an alien planet who develop mysterious mutations and go to warfare with each other. It was a bit like Borderlands by way of the lens of Coronary heart of Darkness, with third-person fight that revolved round gear drops and magic powers. It had the whiff of a live-service grind which repelled some gamers at launch and left others feeling like its endgame was a bit gentle on repayable content material, however it provided an honest multiplayer story marketing campaign elevated by among the most enjoyable I’ve had with third-person taking pictures in a very long time.
It was the kind of AA-going-on-AAA franchise that deserved a second shot to see the way it might develop and the place the builders would possibly take the formulation subsequent, particularly if it was free of getting to disguise itself as a live-service shooter to persuade a writer to greenlight it within the heyday of Future 2. It’s unclear if there’s nonetheless an outdoor likelihood Outriders 2 might ultimately see the sunshine of day below a brand new writer, however that appears unlikely. Sq. Enix is at present within the midst of a three-year plan to double down on its greatest franchises and pull again from riskier outdoors bets. The primary Outrdiers reportedly didn’t flip a revenue in its first yr.
After a number of rounds of layoffs, Folks Can Fly is at present doing co-development help on Gears of Struggle: E-Day and is working with Krafton and Sony on different new video games as properly. I simply want one among them was Outriders 2.
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