Senior combat designer at Obsidian Rob Donovan and lead systems designer Kyle Koenig dove into the combat systems and changes to combat and gameplay in The Outer Worlds 2 in a recent interview with IGN.
They talked a bit about some new changes to player movement, like how you can parkour now in The Outer Worlds 2, meaning that you can grab up onto new areas, slide into cover, and you can even spec your character to be better at things like shooting while sliding.
What they mostly talked about was the design philosophy the team had with combat in The Outer Worlds 2. For example, while you'll have plenty more options regarding how you want to handle a combat encounter, the enemies you'll face have also been designed to try and surprise you, and be more challenging to deal with.
A key aspect of that is the removal of level scaling for The Outer Worlds 2. Donovan described enemies as being classed in "tiers" this time around. So while you'll face a few enemies meant to be a little more difficult for newbies in the game's opening areas, by the time you've explored quite a bit and leveled up, you can return to those opening areas and crush anything in your path.
There was also a lot of thought put into making every path viable in combat, so there's no one playstyle that players feel like they should use, even if it goes against how they want to play the game. That said, Donovan did also state later in the video that the team considers The Outer Worlds 2 to be a "ranged-first" game with "melee in the mix," so players wanting a more melee-focused experience might be let down.
Another interesting point both Donovan and Koenig made was how the team looked at games like Destiny 2 and Call of Duty to try and improve gunplay in The Outer Worlds 2, to ensure that even if you're not creating a character that is going to be the most adept gunslinger, using any gun in your arsenal still feels good.
The Outer Worlds 2 is currently set to arrive on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC sometime later this year, with more information coming on June 8, after Xbox has its big summer showcase for the year. Hopefully we'll learn the exact release date by then.
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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