Last month, we learned that Outward 2 would be launching in early access on July 7, 2026, and today, as part of the PC Gaming Show during Summer Game Fest 2026, we got another look at the game and the reveal that an open beta is now live for players to jump into ahead of launch.
Several players already looking forward to Outward 2 are in the currently running closed beta, but now anyone who didn't make it into the closed beta, or anyone who simply likes the look of Outward 2 can give it a shot on Steam to help pressure-test the game's servers beginning from now until the game arrives next month.
You'll also want to test the game's servers with a friend beside you, as the open beta trailer also showed off co-op play, including split-screen co-op for anyone who wants to pull up an extra chair to their PC for their friend to join.
The studio is also kicking off a competition for players to win two early access keys for Outward 2, ahead of its release next month. Beginning today and running until June 25, 2026, players can enter the competition by first following one of the game's social media accounts, be it Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, subscribing to its YouTube channel or joining the game's Discord.
Share a screenshot or a video from your time in the open beta that shows off either "things going really well or going hilariously wrong," the studio outlined in a press release. Add #ExploreAurai and mention someone you'd play the game with and tag Nine Dots Studio to complete your entry. There's also a contest page you can visit if you have any major questions.
When Wccftech spoke to Nine Dots Studio about Outward 2 back in 2024, chief executive officer Guillaume Boucher-Vidal promised that Outward 2 would be "as cruel and obscure as the first one. I insist on that. I'm quite okay that it's gonna turn off some people because there are others who are turned on by exactly the thing that is turning off others."
Today, everyone who has been waiting for this game for the last seven years since the first game's launch will finally be able to put that to the test, and then again in the early access release. We'll see if Boucher-Vidal and the rest of the Nine Dots Studio team has lived up to that expectation.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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