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  1. Games
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  3. The Outer Worlds 2

The Outer Worlds 2 was obviously inspired by Fallout: New Vegas, but if you're "tired" of hearing that, its director says it's got plenty of Deus Ex DNA too

News
By Ali Jones published 25 June 2025

Obsidian seems to have a confusing relationship with some of its RPG legacy

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The Outer Worlds 2
(Image credit: Microsoft)
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There's a long list of inspirations behind The Outer Worlds 2, but its director knows that "people are probably tired" of hearing about one of them.

Speaking with GamesRadar+, The Outer Worlds 2 creative director Brandon Adler says that "the first game was the most important reference" behind Obsidian's upcoming RPG sequel. That should come as little surprise – rare is the follow-up that pays literally no attention to its predecessor – but there's another major inspiration that Adler also admits is one that fans might be a bit fed up of hearing about.

"We looked at all kinds of things," he says. "I know people are probably tired of me saying this, but Fallout: New Vegas was a big inspiration for us." If you're not up to speed with why people might be tired of hearing that, it's because Obsidian made New Vegas. That history with Fallout meant that when the studio came out with a stylized, anti-capitalist, contained sci-fi RPG, it was relatively easy to draw a line from Bethesda's RPG series to Obsidian's burgeoning effort.

Article continues below
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  • Fallout 3 Fallout 3, 4, Skyrim, and Starfield lead says Deus Ex was a "huge influence" on him and his RPGs at Bethesda
  • Fallout New Vegas RPG legend Josh Sawyer figured his "dream" of making a Fallout game was dead – until New Vegas came along

In the end, I don't think it was a very good comparison, but that's another article. Thankfully, Adler had another reference up his sleeve: "the newer Deus Ex games." The gameplay in Human Revolution and Mankind Divided is some that Adler says he "really loves." It's a timely reference, given that the iconic immersive sim series is in the midst of its 25th anniversary celebrations, but since its future is still in some degree of doubt, The Outer Worlds 2 might be your best chance to experience Deus Ex for a while.

I have to say, a lot of what Adler is saying is making me increasingly excited for The Outer Worlds 2. There seems to be a real focus on sandboxy multiplayer, and an attempt to make you really dial into your own personal playstyle that I'm looking forward to despite having not entirely gotten on with the first game.

How Obsidian became Xbox's most prolific studio: "There's not a lot of studios at Microsoft that have an entire external developer making the whole game for them"

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I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for news, shaping the news strategy across the team. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.

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