I'm Alex, one of the Red Barrels team members and Game Director on The Outlast Trials. The success of The Outlast Trials Early Access has been remarkable! Being that we are indie developers that are self-funded and self-published meant that we had to make sure to take time to adapt our workflow to ensure the game's quality and longevity going forward. Since Early Access launch, we have had new members join our team, and with the help of the player feedback we’ve gotten thus far, we have been able to adjust our targets and work towards the full release of The Outlast Trials.

Red Barrels is intensely focused on production. Despite our silence, we want you all to know that we keep a close eye on our community engagement and value your discussions because at the end of the day being an Early Access title means that you are all part of the development process with us. We've gathered over 60,000 responses through The Outlast Trials Early Access Survey, we read and monitor our official Outlast Discord, the Outlast subreddit, watch streamers and videos of playthroughs, as well as monitor other platforms daily to get a full grasp on the experience our players have, and what they like about The Outlast Trials. Rosie, our Community Manager, keeps track of community sentiment and conversations to relay the community concerns to our team. Your opinion matters and impacts our everyday decisions. After you've played, you are welcome to contribute more feedback via the Spontaneous Feedback form. I personally review each comment submitted so all extra feedback is greatly appreciated!

Today, I want to shed some light on various key topics in our internal roadmap.

We are currently actively working on fulfilling a major request: bringing the game to consoles. This means launching on PS5, Xbox S/X, and older gen (PS4/XboxOne), While enabling crossplay with PC. Our aim is to ensure that the unique social experience of The Outlast Trials can be shared across platforms, despite the technical complexity it requires. Our progress is promising, but we can't provide a console release date or guarantee universal crossplay just yet. Originally targeting 2023, we are now eyeing an early 2024 console release due to the challenges faced by our small team.

Our matchmaking system philosophy involves players grouping up and deciding on Trials together, rather than having separate matchmaking for each Trial. This decision might seem unusual, but there are reasons behind it:

1. Matchmaking per Trial would divide players among many pools (25+).
   
2. Players don't evenly play all Trials; some are more popular due to player progression.
   
3. This approach significantly increases matchmaking queue times.
   
4. Players might not find matches for certain Trials, leading to frustration.
   
5. This approach could potentially harm the game experience.

While we prefer group selection in the Sleep Room due to its more immersive nature (group setup, loadout selection, cell visits, social interactions, arm wrestling), we're aware of the player concerns. We're not planning any major backend changes right now regarding this, but we're improving how Trials are selected to involve the group instead of just the leader (via suggestions or other ways we are currently exploring). Coop play is vital to The Outlast Trials, and we are constantly monitoring how players group up together and will continue to make improvements if needed.

We are working on a public roadmap, but in the meantime we have this:

• Introduction of Program 4
  
• New Trial
  
• New MK-Challenges
  
• Program X refresh
  
• Program Halloween (limited event with special rewards)
  
• New Amps
  
• New Variators
  
• New Prescriptions
  
• New Cosmetics
  
• New Cell Items
  
• New Sleep Room Minigame
  
• Tons of other improvements, balance, tweaks and quality of life.
  
• And much more!

In addition to the topics mentioned above, we are also addressing the following issues:

Murkoff acknowledges success, yet we recognize the harsh consequences of Trial failure. In the upcoming update, we are implementing an XP system centered around Performance. This means substantial XP rewards for player actions (in addition to First Time Completion and Grade Bonus payouts). This approach aims to facilitate continuous leveling and enable acquiring upgrades, rigs, and amps for reattempting Trials.

Enabling players to follow their preferred playstyle has always been a central principle for our team. Whether teaming up with less experienced or more apprehensive players who prefer to join for the experience rather than objectives, we support it entirely. Yet, we've observed a minority exploiting this approach, leading to team frustration. With the new Performance XP system, deliberate lack of effort will significantly hinder progression compared to active participation in Trials. Additionally, we have plans for a comprehensive reporting system in the future.

As previously stated, we're improving how groups decide on Trials together. Initially, this will involve a suggestion system (with the leader maintaining the final decision). If Trial selection remains challenging, we're open to exploring alternative methods.

Outlast Trials offers a unique cooperative experience and we've always ensured a fully immersive solo option for those who prefer it. Feedback from solo players highlighted the game's increased difficulty after the tutorial. To address this, we're making slight adjustments to the difficulty while preserving the trademark tension of Outlast.

In the previous patch, we experimented with unlimited respawns. Although it helped solo players complete Trials, it diminished the intensity of dying. As a result, we're reverting to the original 3 chances per Trial. However, we're introducing a new feature: Respawn Pills. Exclusive to solo mode, these pills grant an additional +1 chance. For struggling solo players, discovering these extra lives is now a way to survive in the most challenging Trials.

Enemy AI remains a continuous focus for us. While we're content with our current AI's overall performance, player feedback has revealed some odd behavior in certain situations. In response, we're implementing significant updates: improving awareness, enhancing decision-making, and adjusting the Screamer in particular. Expect more details on AI enhancements in the future!

A heartfelt thank you to our players for engaging with The Outlast Trials and fueling its success through your invaluable feedback. The game's triumph is a momentous occasion for our team at Red Barrels. Your input steers our path, and we remain committed to attentive listening. Your patience as we transform this project into a long-lasting experience is deeply valued. Rest assured, we are dedicated to delivering the ultimate, spine-chilling cooperative gaming experience ever crafted!

-Alex
Game Director

There is no better time than NOW to test your resilience in The Outlast Trials! Snag a copy for you and your friends at 15% off during the Steam Summer Sale starting today and ending July 13th at 10am PST.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1304930/The_Outlast_Trials/

Join our official 18+ Discord server here and meet other Reagents to jump into the Trials with!

The Outlast Trials is an Early Access title and our team has been receiving tons of great feedback from all our players in the long form survey. We also made a short survey (linked below) for when players have spontaneous feedback to give to our team about their playthroughs of Trials. We all want to get better together, and your feedback has helped inform our in-game balancing changes, and given us insight into what you want to see us bring to the game in the future in the form of new cosmetics, variators and more. So please keep sharing your thoughts as we continue our development process through Early Access!

✍️ The Outlast Trials: Full Early Access Survey
💡 The Outlast Trials: Spontaneous Feedback

As stated on our Steam page, the price of The Outlast Trials will not change during Early Access (except for sales like this one), however, we intend to increase the price at full launch. Those who purchase the game in Early Access will be upgraded to the full launch version of the game when it is out!

Hoping to see you all in the Sinyala Facility 💉

- The Red Barrels Team

Greetings Reagents!

We have implemented a fix in this small hotfix patch for a crash that some players were experiencing when skipping videos, most notably for the Reagent release video.

If you experience any issues in-game feel free to join our 18+ server Discord and create a ModMail ticket for further assistance.

Send your feedback to our team through our Survey.

Catch you all in the Sleep Room...

Greetings Reagents!
This update brings bug fixes, quality-of-life improvements, and balance changes based on player feedback.

This update also introduces a new experimental Special Event: Program Omega Ω.
We continue to improve the game experience for solo players as well as the first-time user experience in the early game.

Special Event: Program Ω


We are introducing our first special event: Program Omega Ω. This is an experimental program for Reagents looking for the ultimate coop challenge!

• Program Omega details:
  
  • Unlocks at the same time as Program X.
  • Group is required (2-4 players).
  • Therapy Level 20+ is recommended.
  • New Variator: Stay Together

• Please be advised:
  
  • This is an experimental special event.
    
  • Participating in this program is completely optional and not required to progress.
    
  • Exceptionally, this program is coop exclusive.
    
  • It will only be limited for a few weeks until it is vaulted.
• We are curious to hear your feedback about this first special event!

New Variator: Stay Together

• Stay Together is applied to all Trials of Program Omega.
  
• Stay close to your friends or you will take damage.
  
• Voice chat range is limited, so stay close.

Solo Play

Dev comment: Solo play is an important element of The Outlast Trials. Given the feedback we received, we realize that we may have been a bit too brutal on those playing alone. We’ve decided to revisit some mechanics to ensure solo players have a good time and that they can make continuous progress without being overly punished.

• Players now has unlimited respawns in solo, but will get a grade penalty for each respawn.
• Respawns (in solo) now restore 100% health (previously 50%).
• Enemies and Prime Assets won’t linger around objectives as much.
• General tweaks and rebalancing to AI behaviour when playing solo and cooperative in early game.
• We will observe and continue to gather player feedback and make improvements on solo play.

Arm Wrestling

• You can now challenge other players while sitting at the table.
• Point at a player and press the interact button to challenge them.

Prescriptions

Dev comment: These actions are now available from the start instead of being locked behind upgrades. Purchasing these prescriptions will now improve their base actions.

Redesigned some Actions/Prescriptions (Rx):

• “KICK TO HELP” is now “HARD KICK”:
  • Players can now help teammates grasped by enemies without needing to acquire an upgrade.
    
  • However, helping teammates now exhausts the player.
    
  • Purchasing “HARD KICK” prescription greatly reduces the stamina cost of helping teammates.

• “LIFE SAVER” is now “STAY OF EXECUTION”:
  
  • Players can now save teammates being executed by enemies without needing to acquire an upgrade.
  • Saving teammates now exhausts the player.
    
  • Purchasing this prescription greatly reduces the stamina cost when performing this action.

• Players who acquired the previous prescriptions will automatically receive the newer version and it will be equipped. New players will have to acquire them as usual.

Rigs
Healing Rig:

• “Poison” upgrade:
  • Affected enemies slowdown effect has been increased.
    
  • Affected enemies slowdown duration has been decreased.
    
  • Fixed missing reaction animation on some enemies.
    
  • Dev Comment: The poison upgrade wasn’t perceptible enough, so we increased its effect but reduced the duration. We also fixed an issue where poison wasn’t triggering the reaction animation on some enemies.

Blind Rig:

• Base Rig:
  • Increased base deploy time to 3s (was 2s).
    
  • “Deploy Technique” upgrade:
    
  • Increased upgraded deploy time to 2s (was 1.5s).

X-Ray Rig:

• Fixed an issue where X-Ray wouldn’t work properly if 2 players would use the rig at the same time.

Balancing and improvements

• All players in a group can now navigate the Programs menu.
  
• Completed Trials via Coop play are now replayable even if requirements are not met.
  
  • Previously, players would still have to complete requirements in order to replay a Trial that was previously completed via Coop (selected by a leader who had access to this Trial).
• Stamina consumption while running decreased by 20% - you can now run for longer duration.
  
• Exhaustion time decreased by 20% - exhaustion now recovers faster.
  
• Recovering from bleed-out now restores 25% health (was 50%).
  
• Exit Trial objective marker is now displayed from further distance.
  
• Completing a Trial that wasn’t unlocked will now make it available for replay, instead of having it locked until the unlock conditions are met.
  
• “Slippers” amp now only works when walking on glass. Running will still trigger a sound disturbance.
  
• Walking on glass while having the “Slippers” amp equipped won’t register as a score penalty anymore.
  
• Added a new GAMEPLAY category in the Settings screen:
  • Toggle run (define the run input behavior).
  • Hide item after delay (auto hide the equipped item after a short delay to clear the field of view).
• “Toggle Run” setting now works correctly on gamepads.
  
• Increased the sound made by Pouncers in hiding spots.
  
• Added new voice announcements during the Exit Trial countdown to help players understand the remaining time.
  
• Added border art around Player Icons in all menus where player icons are displayed.
  
• Visual tweaks of the Settings menu.

Fixes

• Fixed a memory leak introduced in the previous update.
  
• Fixed and updated some text, typos, and grammatical errors.
  
• Fixed an issue where the global handwritten Murkoff comment was not correct to the situation.
  
• Fixed an issue where Vouchers or Release Tokens were sometimes not correctly rewarded to players.
  
• Grades of Trials completed in Coop will now display correctly
  
• Fixed an issue where walking on glass with the Amp “Slippers” was still incrementing as “Triggered Sound Traps” in the Results screen.
  
• Fixed navigation issues and bugs in all Trials.
  
• Fixed some issues for grab animations that would occur in some instances.
  
• Fixed an issue where the equipped item would sometimes disappear when used while in Psychosis.
  
• Fixed an issue where sliding got players stuck and unable to move.
  
• Fixed an issue where enemies wouldn’t get stunned by thrown items in some situations.
  
• Fixed an issue where players could survive the Exit Trial post-countdown using the Healing rig.

On the radar
As we continue to gain feedback from all our players through our Survey we are looking at these key areas to work on in the future:

• Reward efforts even in the event of failing a Trial.
• Penalize group players not participating to Trials.
• Improve the Trial selection process as a group.
• Keep improving the solo experience.
• Keep improving the AI behavior in some edge case situations.

PATCH NOTES

Greetings Reagents!
We released a hotfix to resolve some issues and improve game stability.
We are still assessing all the feedback and data from the launch week, and will provide more details soon. Your feedback is critical for us, thank you for playing The Outlast Trials and for taking the time to respond to our survey!

Group Finder
We are improving the Group Finder to queue players of similar Therapy Level together. This change should improve the player experience when playing with strangers. We will be monitoring this change and keep improving it server-side. Although the system tries to find players of similar Therapy Level, it is still possible that players end up in a group with a larger level difference.

General

• Group Finder will now look for players of similar level in priority. If the matchmaking time takes too long, the system will expand to more levels in order to find a team.
  
• Group Finder will avoid matchmaking with the same players twice in a row.
  
• Quest items dropping on the ground due to players leaving Trial or disconnecting will now display an icon across the map to help other players locate it (Keys and Tickets).

Fixes

• Fixed an issue where players could remain stuck inside a hide spot.
  
• Fixed an issue where players could fall out of the map when exiting the shuttle.
  
• Fixed an issue where Pusher NPC wouldn’t grab the player correctly during Mansion Tutorial.
  
• Fixed an issue where some menus wouldn’t open correctly and players would get stuck.
  
• Fixed an issue where players could get stuck in the Graphics tab in the Settings screen.
  
• Fixed an issue where the equipped cosmetic would change at the start of a Trial.
  
• Fixed an issue where NPCs could get stuck in a pass over after opening a door.
  
• Fixed an issue where players couldn’t instant use items given by other players.
  
• Fixed an issue where slide could make the players stuck on location.
  
• Fixed various other bugs to improve the general stability of the game.

Graphics and performance

• Fixed crash when trying to use FSR2 with certain older graphics cards.
  
• Fixed crash when certain VR devices were connected.
  
• Fixed recommended driver version when using older DX11 cards.

Break yourself, rebuild yourself and fight for salvation wherever you roam! The Outlast Trials is fully optimized for the Steam Deck so you can survive Murkoff's experiments alone or with friends wherever you go.

Murkoff's experimental program is waiting for you! Reagents will be pushed to their limits in new environments, new Trials, several Challenges including variators to enhance the experience and difficulty, as well as the elusive seasonal Program X. You will be able to customize your character and cell and experience full character progression with a narrative introduction and a surprising conclusion for each Reagent released, and more to come gradually throughout Early Access. The Outlast Trials is a complex experience, Early Access means we will be able to reiterate the game with your feedback to help us refine and balance the game. More about the Trials...

SLEEP ROOM & DENIZENS
The Denizens populating the Sleep Room are now active. They live in Murkoff’s Sinyala facility and are there to help you with your therapy. You will meet:

• Noakes, the Engineer, will assist you with Experimental Special Operations Platforms, also known as Rigs.
  
• Barlow, the Pharmacist will help you enhance your physical and mental abilities with Prescriptions.
  
• Dorris, the Shadowy Dame, will provide you with Amps to strengthen you for the Trials.

There are other surprises in the Sleep Room for you to discover…

PROGRAMS
One of the biggest changes we introduced in Early Access is the concept of Murkoff Programs. Your rebirth is a journey, separated into clusters of Trials called Programs.

• A Program is a list of Trials and Mk-Challenges that you must complete to earn rewards and make progress in order to unlock the following Programs.
  
  • You will receive “First Completion Rewards” for completing each Trial of a given Program, which can only be earned once.
  • Replaying completed Trials will still provide experience and Murkoff Dollars based on your performance.
  • You will get a special bonus for completing a Trial with an A+ grade.

Programs is a platform that will be populated with new content and experiences over time.

• Access the Programs screen via the Terminal in the Sleep Room.
  
• Program 1 takes place in the Police Station.
  
  • Coyle is the Prime Asset of Program 1.
    
  • The Trial “Kill the Snitch” has been revisited an improved since Closed Beta.
• Program 2 takes place in the Fun Park.
  
  • Gooseberry is the Prime Asset of Program 2.
• Program 3 takes place in the Orphanage.
  • Gooseberry is the Prime Asset of Program 3.

Each Program introduces a new set of Trials and Mk-Challenges.

PROGRAM X
Once you finish all Programs, you will be able to access Program X.

• Program X is a seasonal stack of Trials and MK-Challenges. Our team will renew it occasionally.
  
• Complete Program X to attempt and earn your freedom.

REAGENT RELEASE: JOIN THE REBORN
Murkoff has prepared one final Trial for you to complete once you have completed all Programs.

• Complete it to earn your freedom… But be advised, once a Reagent has earned their freedom, somebody new must take their place.

TRIALS & MK-CHALLENGES

• Trials are immersive story-driven therapies that take a certain time to complete.
  
• Mk-Challenges are shorter therapies occurring in modified or redesigned sections of existing maps.

TRIAL VARIATORS

• Trial Variators alter aspects of a Trial when you revisit them as part of a Program. Variators are also meant to enhance the difficulty of your Trial and is an alternative to the traditional difficulties we’ve seen in previous Outlast games (Easy, Normal, Nightmare, Insane).
  
  • The list of Variators will show when selecting a Trial in a Program.
    
  • You can also see the list of Variators when opening the Menu (ESC) while in a Trial.

ENEMIES, AI & DIFFICULTY
Improvements were made to enemy AI since Closed Beta.

• They are now more brutal, deadly, and relentless so make sure to use your stealth, items in the map, and your rig to evade them.
  
• Difficulty selection has been removed from the game and instead, the challenge increases as you make progress through the Programs, and Trial Variators increase test your limits.

RECORD & THERAPY LEVELS

• Look through your Records to view your Reagent Therapy Level
  
  • Therapy Levels are our progression system where you must complete Trials to acquire experience and increase your Reagent level.
    
  • The maximum level for Early Access is 40.
• Therapy Levels will provide rewards:
  
  • Vouchers - a currency used to purchase Rigs, Upgrades, Prescriptions, and Amps
    
  • Murkoff Dollars - a currency used to purchase character cosmetics and cell decorations.
    
  • Cosmetics - a random cosmetic will unlock and be available for purchase with Murkoff Dollars for each level-up.

LOADOUT
As you progress in your therapy you will earn currency to unlock Rigs, Prescriptions, and Amps to enhance your Reagent.

• Use the Loadout to organize and activate your ideal Regimen.
  
• You can also see the list of purchased Rig Upgrades, Amps, and Prescriptions from the Loadout screen.
  
• Try to synergize your loadout with your teammates, or equip the best loadout for each Trial.
  
• Setup your Loadout from the Terminal in the Sleep Room or by opening your menu (TAB)

RIGS
Rigs are experimental, reusable tools designed to help with your therapy.

• See Noakes in the Sleep Room to acquire new Rigs and upgrade them.
  
• Rigs have been reworked and rebalanced since Closed Beta.
  
  • They can now be upgraded with improvements and new features.
    
  • Rig upgrades must be purchased consecutively.

PRESCRIPTIONS
Prescriptions (Rx) enhance your physical and mental abilities.

• Purchase Rx from Barlow in the Sleep Room’s Pharmacy.
  
• Murkoff chemical therapy is terminal, meaning once purchased, an Rx is active forever.
  
• There are 2 tiers of Prescriptions.
  
  • Prescriptions can be purchased in any order, but Tier 2 only becomes available once all the Tier 1 Prescriptions have been purchased.

AMPS
Amps are powerful contraband that can have a big impact on your therapy.

• Purchase Amps from Dorris in the cafeteria, when she thinks you are ready.
  
• Amps become available later in the game.

CHARACTER COSMETICS
You are unique. Change your appearance to reflect who you really are.

• Visit the mirror in your private cell to access the appearance customization menu.
  
• Cosmetics will be unlocked randomly and available for purchase as you progress through the game.

PRIVATE CELL DECORATIONS
Make your place cozy. Change the look of your personal cell.

• Visit the bed in your private cell to access the customization menu.
  
• More decorations will be unlocked randomly and available to purchase as you progress through the game.

GRADE SYSTEM
The Post-Trial Grade calculation has been revamped.

• All your actions now influence your Grade.
  
• Murkoff’s report with your grade will be visible after each Trial.
  
• Grades influence the performance payout you get at the end of each Trial.

BADGES
Badges have been revamped since the Closed Beta.

• Badges are now long-term accomplishments that provide a reward once completed.
  
• A badge milestone can be redone multiple times (although the reward only occurs once).

EVIDENCE
There are illicit Murkoff documents scattered inside the Trials.

• Find them to uncover the secret history of the Sinyala Facility. Many new documents have been added.

INTERFACE/HUD
The Interface/HUD has been reworked to be simpler and more immersive.

• Interface elements now appear when needed, then auto-hide.
  
• We have added many interface/accessibility options to adjust the interface to your preference.
  
  • Health Display
    
  • Sanity Display
    
  • Noise Indicator Display
    
  • Darkness Indicator Display
    
  • Inventory Display
    
  • Assignment Display
    
  • Aim Dot Display
    
  • Group Display
    
  • Player Names
• We have also added a new PRESET feature, allowing players to quickly change their interface settings.
  
  • [STANDARD] Standard and immersive way to play.
    
  • [ACCESSIBLE] All accessibility options are active.
    
  • [IMMERSIVE] Most immersive and challenging way to play.
    
  • [CLASSIC COOP] Focus on teammates with permanent group display.
• Many menus have been introduced/revamped since the Closed Beta.
  
  • Terminal and all sub-menus
    
  • Denizens' screens (Noakes, Barlow, Dorris)
    
  • Results screen (end of a Trial)
    
  • Options screen
    
  • Pause Menu

GROUP FINDER & GROUP
We have introduced a new Group Finder feature.

• Use this feature to find players before starting a Trial.
  
  • Select the party size (Duo, Trio, Quad).
• Access Group Settings from your Menu
  
  • Change “Group Privacy”: Friends Only, Private, Open To All
    
  • Toggle “Group Members Can Invite”
    
  • Toggle “Group Invitation Requests”

AUDIO
Experience the new music and audio effects, and voiceovers for all characters.
LANGUAGES SUPPORT
The Outlast Trials is now playable in 13 different languages.

• Voice overs only available in English and French
  
• New subtitles options.

KNOWN ISSUES

• When reviving a player who is located on the Police Station snitch cart rails, the player who is helping their downed teammate will be moved sideways
  • This is only a visual bug and should not affect reviving a downed teammate
• In certain seeds of Police Station one of the posters in the basement cannot be grabbed, as well as some posters in the seeds of the Feed the Children Trials
  • There are always more posters available than required, we are investigating this issue
• Some subtitles might be cut off if they are too long
  
• Some French voice lines may not match their subtitles
  
• Some UI and its interactions may be offset on some ultrawide resolutions
  
• On rare occasions the Pusher is unable to grab the player in the Mansion Tutorial level therefore stalling the player's progress in that level
  
  • Players must restart the Tutorial, we are investigating the issue

FIXED ISSUES

• Fixed NPCs who idle in front of hidespots instead of taking you out.

To report bugs please join our Discord https://discord.gg/outlastofficial and follow the instructions on creating a ModMail ticket to chat with a support agent. Note it is an 18+ server considering our game’s mature content.

If you wish to share your feedback about The Outlast Trials Early Access, you can do so by completing our survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OutlastTrialsEarlyAccess

The Red Barrels Dev Team

We are excited to officially announce the Early Access release date for The Outlast Trials, which will come to Steam and Epic Games Store on May 18, 2023. Wishlist The Outlast Trials now



Players were first granted access to Murkoff’s Sinyala Facility last Halloween for the Closed Beta experience. Running from October 28th to November 1st, almost 1 million players signed up for the terrifying challenge, with successful players racking up a total of 35 years of playtime spent during the Closed Beta weekend. Once again we thank everyone who joined us during the Closed Beta, your feedback was invaluable!

The Outlast Trials Closed Beta gameplay data:

• 225,363 player deaths
  
• 656,180 players incapacitated
  
• 352,851,550 secs (11 years) spent in Night Vision
  
• 1,841,161 number of times Active Skill was used
  
• 35 years total time spent in The Outlast Trials by players during the Closed Beta

“The Closed Beta was just a taste of what’s to come in The Outlast Trials,” said Philippe Morin, Co-Founder of Red Barrels. "Our first round of willing participants to take part in the trials provided us with some insightful feedback and very interesting data, which we have used to improve the player experience. We received so many requests for the Closed Beta that we’re looking forward to welcoming even more players to The Outlast Trials when it comes to Early Access on May 18th.”

A brand new take on the acclaimed Outlast survival horror series, The Outlast Trials is set in the same terrifying universe as the previous titles, only this time you can choose to play on your own or with friends in a team of up to four people. Early Access will only be available on Steam and Epic Games Store, however, we are working to have The Outlast Trials be playable on as many consoles as possible for the game's full launch with cross-platform play but without cross-platform progression.

Further information about pricing and the content available in The Outlast Trials Early Access will be revealed soon.

Here are our responses to some Early Access questions as seen on our Steam page:

Why Early Access?“The Outlast Trials is a complex experience and the most challenging production the studio has ever faced. We need your feedback to help us refine and balance the game. Murkoff's experimental program is waiting for you.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?
“It all depends on the feedback we get. Our goal is to release version 1.0 when we feel the game delivers our initial vision.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?
“In addition to bug fixes and improvements on balance and core gameplay, the full version will have more of everything: trials, challenges, enemies, perks, customization, etc. Most of these will be introduced gradually during the Early Access phase.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?
“The Early Access build will include all the main features and be fully playable.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?
“No definitive plans here yet, but it is likely that the price will be increased over the course of the Early Access period.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?
“We currently use our Discord server as our primary ways to talk to our community. We also look forward to reading your feedback via our Steam forums and social media channels.”

Keep in touch with us and what we are up to on our socials:

Instagram
Twitter
Discord
Twitch
YouTube
Website
Red Barrels Facebook
Outlast Facebook

We will be getting better together very soon...

- The Red Barrels Team

The Closed Beta for The Outlast Trials is officially over.
The Red Barrels team thanks everyone for pouring hours into our game and sharing your experiences with us.

Keep sharing your Closed Beta experiences with us here or on our other social media accounts: Screenshots, clips, feedback, pistachios; WE WANT TO SEE IT ALL!

Twitter
Red Barrels Facebook
Outlast Facebook
Twitch
Instagram
Official Outlast Discord

Also please fill out The Outlast Trials Survey so we can work towards a roadmap to release with your feedback in mind.

Let's not be strangers. Let's stay in touch... and remember we are all going to get better together! 💉

- The Red Barrels Team

Welcome to the Closed Beta of The Outlast Trials game!

The Murkoff Corporation is waiting for you at its Sinyala Facility to volunteer for a unique therapy to reinvent yourself before letting you back out into society.

The team at Red Barrels has been working hard on this project for years now; we are nearing the finish line, but need your valuable feedback to bring this game to its full potential!

Please keep in mind this isn’t a finished product, The Outlast Trials is a work in progress and we will prioritize game breaking bugs this weekend and will be working to fix other issues in the future for full launch. Some things still need to be worked on and polished, but before we go any further, we’d love to have you jump into The Outlast Trials and get your thoughts.

In this Closed Beta, you’ll be able to play the introduction of the game, explore the Sleep Room (the in-game lobby), customize your character, make your cell your own, and take part in one of Murkoff’s Trials in Police Station featuring Leland Coyle, one of our Prime Assets. The trial is playable solo or co-op with a team of up to four players, with each participant’s performance being rated by Murkoff.
Enjoy, and remember, we are all in this together.

• It is not possible to reconnect to an ongoing Trial under any circumstances. If you get disconnected or kicked out, we suggest you to either wait for your team to be done playing so you can join them again or queue in a new game.
  
• Unlock higher difficulties by completing the difficulty below it. Insane difficulty will not be playable during Closed Beta.
  
• The Party Voice Chat system is activated by default, if you wish to deactivate it, you can change the settings in the Main Menu > Game Options > Audio > Voice Chat Enabled > Off.
  
• Cinematics' audio may be out of sync on certain systems.

• If you press Play on Steam, and the game window does not launch, but the Task Manager shows it’s running, you’ll have to follow these steps: Right-click on The Outlast Trials in Steam → Go to Properties → Manage → Browse local files → Right-click on the “TOTClient.exe” → Properties → Compatibility → Toggle on “Run this program in compatibility mode for” → Select Windows 7.
  
• If you get a “DX12 is not supported on your system“ error message, please verify your file integrity on steam.
  
• If you get a DX12 crash, go into the Properties section of The Outlast Trials Closed Beta application in Steam, and in the Launch Options type: “-dx11” This will allow you to switch the game to DirectX 11. The game might be slightly slower but it will be playable.
  
• If you get the “Failed to find server for match” error message, please wait a few moments and try again.
  
• Can't connect to the game? Check your firewall or antivirus software configuration to ensure it's not blocking the game from connecting to its servers.

When crashing in any way, make sure to fill up the Unreal Crash Window.

• When a player is downed and bleeding out near walls, corners, and other objects throughout the map where it’s not possible to revive downed or dead teammates (close to wall, corners, other objects). The downed player just has to move in an open area before dying.
  
• If the player quits to the lobby/sleeping room while being in the SAS wagon, some issues may occur.
  
• Even if your Social Menu is accessible during your tutorial, you will not be able to invite people to play with you. It is a strictly solo experience and seeing his menu at that stage is unintended.
  
• Slight chance of having an issue with the Generator’s cranking mini-game. Players will not be able to progress and will have to restart the trial.
  
• The Outlast Trials is not currently supported on the Steam Deck.