The Outer Worlds pre-load: How to install the game early so you can jump in ASAP

The Outer Worlds pre-loads are available on most platforms now. Whether you've been ready for The Outer Worlds since you first heard "a new first-person RPG from the Fallout: New Vegas folks" or you finally made up your mind when you read our The Outer Worlds review, several services are ready to start streaming ones and zeroes to your hard drive ahead of the game's full launch. Check out our guide to when you can start playing The Outer Worlds as well for a full picture of your launch day schedule.

The Outer Worlds PS4 pre-load

As of this writing, you can't pre-load The Outer Worlds on PlayStation Store quite yet. However, Sony typically makes pre-loads for big new games available within two days of their release date, so that means it should become available very soon. As long as you have a decent download speed, you'll have plenty of time to get the game all ready to play as soon as it launches.

The Outer Worlds Xbox One pre-load

If you're playing on Xbox One, pre-loading The Outer Worlds is a cinch. Just pick up your digital copy on the Xbox Store and start pre-loading right away.

The Outer Worlds PC pre-load

You have three options for getting The Outer Worlds on PC, but only two of them will let you start pre-loading the game right now. I'll start with the option that doesn't: Epic Games store. You can pre-order the game on PC there, but even if you do, you'll still have to wait until it actually comes out to start installing. It's about 37 gigabytes on PC, so you'll probably be waiting at good bit past the launch time if you choose that option.

The other two routes are purchasing the game on the Microsoft Store or downloading it via Xbox Games Pass for PC. Both of these routes go through Microsoft's backend, which currently allows for pre-loading, so you'll be ready to start installing the game whichever option you choose. If you haven't tried Game Pass yet, you should consider giving it a shot - I signed up for a 1-month subscription for a dollar last night, and it's set to continue for $5 a month after that. Assuming the price doesn't go up, I'd have to stay subscribed for a whole year to equal the price of buying The Outer Worlds by itself (and it has a bunch of other games too).

See what else is on the way this year with our guide to the new games of 2019, or check out what's new this week with our latest Release Radar video.