Revolutionizing Character Development: The Outer Worlds 2 Unveils New and Dynamic Progression System

Employees of Obsidian continue to unveil details about The Outer Worlds 2 ahead of the full game presentation set to begin on June 8, right after the Xbox Games Showcase 2025. In the latest edition of IGN First, design director Matt Singh and lead system designer Kyle Koenig discussed the principles behind the creation of the RPG system.

The developers express their intention to enhance character progression in the sequel, aiming to encourage players to build unique character builds. To achieve this, they have eliminated skill groups and made the development of each attribute individual.

Kyle Koenig

Additionally, many abilities are directly connected with other gameplay systems. For instance, as players enhance their perception, hidden items, caches, or disguised doors within locations will become highlighted, potentially leading to alternative paths for quest completion.

The developers have also focused on increasing the diversity of perks, boasting over 90 in the sequel. Unlocking each perk will require different character trait combinations, promoting distinct builds rather than creating “jack-of-all-trades” characters as seen in the first installment. Many perks feature multiple effects; for example, the “Space Ranger” perk unlocks additional dialogue options while also increasing damage dealt based on the player’s persuasion level.

Kyle Koenig

The sequel will also reintroduce a system of positive and negative traits, which has been further deepened. Negative traits can often come with their own advantages, such as boosting attack strength after taking damage at the cost of reduced health. Additionally, opting for a negative trait allows players to take on an extra positive one.

However, one feature that may not please all gamers is the absence of a respec system. Developers clarified that this is a deliberate choice, as they wish to give more weight to players’ permanent decisions—both successful and otherwise. They believe that the ability to freely redistribute skills undermines thoughtful character building, ultimately resulting in the creation of generic min-max characters lacking unique qualities.

The Outer Worlds 2 is set to release sometime this year on PC (Steam, Battle.net), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series, including Game Pass. An exact release date has yet to be announced. Unfortunately, Russian is not among the supported languages.