Outriders "pleasantly surprised" publisher Square Enix

Outriders Yagak guide — (Image credit: Square Enix)

Square Enix boss Yosuke Matsuda has revealed the publisher was "pleasantly surprised" by the success of its new shooter IP, Outriders, and said that partnering with Microsoft to make the game available on Xbox Game Pass from day one "also worked in its favor".

Talking about Outriders in a recent investors call – an English-language transcript of which was only published today (thanks, VGC) – Matsuda said the series had "gotten off to a good start" despite the "slight issues" that plagued its initial launch.

"In regards to the response to Outriders, while there were slight issues with bugs and the like on launch, we believe it has gotten off to a good start as a new IP," president Matsuda said.

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"In addition, we have been pleasantly surprised as the digital sales ratio for the title have been very high, and the number of active users has also beaten our expectations.

"We believe that our decision to make Outriders available with Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass as soon as the title launched also worked in our favor."

ICYMI, People Can Fly recently revealed it is improving the rate of Legendary drops in its co-operative shooter, Outriders, stating "Legendary Drop Rates, across the board, will be increased by 100 per cent".

"Outriders is a game in the throes of an identity crisis," we said in the GamesRadar+ Outriders review. "It's an interesting amalgamation of Gears of War, Destiny, and Bulletstorm, with gameplay that oscillates between surprising and same-y. It has moments of rare beauty, offering up sweeping vistas of gorgeous alien monoliths surrounded by swirling blue clouds, and then it has you trudge through seven hours' worth of muddy brown landscapes. There are flashes of variety mixed with pangs of repetition."

"It's hard to pin down Outriders, a game that's constantly pinning you down in open areas littered with chest-high walls," the review continues. "It shines when it leans into how it was marketed: as a bloody, messy, foul-mouthed looter shooter that lets you beat the piss out of aliens. However, Outriders has so many other moving parts that make it muddier than the majority of its landscapes."