As we look ahead to what’s coming to The Outlast Trials, we wanted to connect with you all and discuss what's on the horizon.



We're thrilled to share that our team made significant headway on the console versions and are set to launch March 5th, 2024! We've heard the anticipation from console players eager to dive into The Outlast Trials experience ever since Early Access started. Remember, Outlast Trials will offer full cross-play functionality across PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox X/S, and Xbox One, without cross-progression however. We truly appreciate everyone’s patience, and can’t wait for the lobby to be filled with new Reagents!
Pre-order on PlayStation
Pre-order on Xbox



Brace yourselves for a new limited-time winter event coming to The Outlast Trials next week! More info to come.

For those actively engaged in Outlast Trials, you may have participated in our special events such as Program Omega, Program Geister, and the Weekly Programs as well. These events during our Early Access phase serve as a means for us to refine our tools and set the course for the future of The Outlast Trials. It is through these limited events that we can gather feedback and fine-tune the game before exiting Early Access.
Rest assured, ALL events occurring during Early Access will return in the future, ensuring both our existing players and our new players can relish in these experiences.

Program Geister marked our inaugural limited-time event with unique gameplay elements and rewards. We've gathered invaluable feedback and insights from all participating players. Thanks to your contributions, we have incorporated some suggestions for the next limited-time event coming soon. The upcoming limited-time event will be:

• Less time consuming
  
• More generous with rewards
  
• Provide an extended period to claim rewards beyond the event duration

Designed as experimental therapies by Murkoff, Weekly Programs aim to test Reagents in unconventional situations that diverge from normal Trial rules. They are intended to be inclusive for everyone—be it new or seasoned players—rather than strictly challenging. Murkoff has prepared numerous therapies to be introduced in the weeks and months ahead, some will focus on co-op play while others will bring more of a challenge to both solo and multiplayer experiences. Your feedback as test subjects is crucial, and we welcome your ideas for future Weekly Programs!
We're closely observing how these Programs are played and will make adjustments upon their return in the Weekly Program rotation based on your feedback.

We understand that some seasoned players may be looking for more challenging Trials. Our primary focus is on welcoming new players after our official departure from Early Access as console releases happen. Simultaneously, however, we're exploring ways to offer veterans an ultimate challenge to spice things up for them. We’ve seen how many of our players loved harder game modes, and have become reborn, so with this in mind, we want to introduce a more daunting threat from Murkoff for these Reagents. We appreciate your patience as we work on this!

Our goal is to exit Early Access in sync with the console release set for March 5th, 2024 accompanied by a new Trial in Toy Factory, new MK challenges, additional cosmetics, and amps, among other surprises. The progression level cap will also be raised. This marks just the beginning of an extensive journey for all Reagents and Reborns once the full release occurs.

We know you’ve all been asking, and we're meticulously crafting a roadmap for post-release content. Alongside the release of new Trials, MK-Challenges, Events, Enemies, Amps, and Rigs, we're keen on experimenting with unique twists and game modes, as well as new reward systems. The Outlast Trials is a live game and we are molding its future live-ops and features with our players at heart.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Reagents!

We have spent this year getting better together since The Outlast Trials launched in Early Access, and we are asking you to nominate us for the "Better With Friends" Category in the 2023 Steam Awards!

We love seeing how the Outlast fandom and people who are discovering the game for the first time, have gotten together to face the Trials alongside other members of the community! As developers, it has been great to get the game in people's hands to show how Outlast, a game that was traditionally always a single-player narrative experience, can be turned into a fun exhilarating horror multiplayer to jump into with fellow thrill seekers!

Here's a behind-the-scenes look at the highs and lows of the journey of crafting our inaugural multiplayer horror game The Outlast Trials! Dive into the heart of our creative process and the hurdles we faced in this full making-of documentary.


Thank you to all our fans and players, we wouldn't be here without you, and we appreciate all the support and love you've shown our team throughout this daunting but exciting development process!

Greetings Reagents,

We are back with a few more fixes to issues our team has identified! This patch will include the following fixes:

• Fixed the issue where the Policeman Shirt cosmetic did not equip properly. You can be a cop now!
  
• Fixed an issue where players that experienced long load times would later get kicked out of their group when returning from a Trial.
  
• Fixed issue where some players would get stuck in the evaluation corridor exit when returning from a trial.
  
• Fixed jump-over action that sometimes made players get stuck in the "RELEASE THE PRISONERS" Trial.

If you experience any in-game issues feel free to join our 18+ Discord Server and create a ticket to speak with our support team. Thanks to everyone who has been reaching out to us and playing The Outlast Trials, our team really appreciates the engagement and feedback!

Greetings Reagents,

Our team has identified and fixed a few issues! This most recent patch includes the following fixes:

• Fixed when players crash when booting on Steam Deck.
  
• Fixed Program X badge not being unlockable. Players will need to play and complete the last Trial in Program X to unlock the badge, even if they completed it before.
  
• Bind night vision key to loadout key so both change when rebound to another key.

If you encounter any issues in-game feel free to join our 18+ Discord Server and create a ticket to speak with our support team.

Greetings Reagents,

We fixed a few issues that players have reported in the latest Content Update #3

• Fixed the issue in the "Release the Prisoners" MK-Challenge where there was a chance that pressing the button in the security room won't bring the tubes down, preventing you from progressing.
  
• Fixed an issue that occurred where players would no longer hear NPC voices after playing chess.

If you encounter any issues in-game feel free to join our 18+ Discord Server and create a ticket to speak with our support team.

This latest update delves into a substantial amount of changes, enhancements, and new content, many of which are a result of all the feedback we obtained from players throughout Early Access. Here are some of the new features coming in for this major update:

• Program 4: Courthouse New Trial.
  
• New MK-Challenges in Fun Park, Orphanage, and Police Station.
  
• Program Geister Halloween Event: Our second limited time event now with new exclusive rewards running October 27th - November 17th.
  
• New Cosmetics and decorations - Play Program Geister to unlock themed cosmetics.
  
• Weekly Programs: Play through Murkoff’s new Experimental Therapy every week starting after November 17th.
  
• New Sleep Room Minigame - Challenge other reagents in a timeless chess battle.
  
• Group Finder changes - Find players for the same Trial, and other options.
  
• New Prescriptions and Amps - Continue your progression and unlock new Prescription and Amps.
  
• New Conclusion - Where will Murkoff send the reborns?
  
• New Legendary Outfits - Available for the reborn.
  
• Player Reporting tools - New tool to ensure a great experience for all players.
  
• Other additions, improvements, balancing, fixes and much more. More details below...

We cannot allow our innocent institutions to be persecuted for their clear guilt. Sabotage the proceedings, silence the witnesses, and revoke the authority of the judge.

• Two new storylines added! Complete them by finding the evidence documents scattered inside the Trials.
  
• New objective gameplay including the acid bucket retrieval, lockbox puzzle rooms, and the introduction of a new objective enemy: the Scapegoat.
  
• Utilize the Tracker to pinpoint the elusive Scapegoat, then employ the Microwave Trigger device to... well, let's just say it's not the most pleasant news for its brain! Make sure to keep your eyes peeled to spot clues in your surroundings for help maneuvering the map.

Introducing 3 new MK-Challenges spread across the different Programs.

Drill the Futterman: People are not toys. Stop Mother Gooseberry from making a human Dr. Futterman. Located in Fun Park featuring Gooseberry


Release the Prisoners: Only Murkoff arbitrates justice; free the convicts falsely imprisoned for their conspicuous guilt. Located in Police Station featuring Coyle


Gather the Children of God: Too much mother-love makes a weak child. Gather the children and bring them to the priest for a more strenuous education. Located in Orphanage featuring Gooseberry





Program Geister is an experimental and convergent hallucinatory therapy designed to amplify unforeseen side effects of the Trials. Program Geister is a limited-time Halloween event that unlocks October 27th and ends November 17th. Throughout this time you will be able to play through select Trial Programs with new variators:

• Hallucinations?: You see something! Is it the side effects, trauma or something else?
  
• No Player Names: Player names are hidden. Total immersion for everyone!
  
• More Imposters: More Imposters will be present in the Trial. Watch your back.
  
• Enraged Enemies: Enemies are on high alert! Be careful...

Complete the Program Geister storyline by finding the evidence documents scattered inside the Trials.



Acquire 2 Geister exclusive Legendary Outfits and 15+ Geister exclusive character and cell cosmetics using Geister Tokens

Succeeding in the Geister Program Trials is the only way to obtain the Geister Tokens needed to acquire new exclusive outfits, as well as character and cell customizations. You must play Program Geister to unlock these exclusive customization items during the event and you will be able to acquire the items you unlock using Geister Tokens in their respective menus in your cell. These exclusive Geister customization items will be vaulted and won't be able to be acquired once the event ends. Anything you acquired using your Geister Tokens during the event will remain in your inventory.

• Introducing Weekly Programs, which revolve around thematic Trials and MK-Challenges, delivering fresh experiences.
  
• Some Weekly Programs present challenges; consider customizing your loadout to counter variators.
  
• Please note that Weekly Programs will be temporarily halted during the presence of Experimental Programs like Program Geister.
  
• The inaugural Weekly Program launches on November 17th.
  
• We're excited to share that some Weekly Programs are experimental, and we eagerly welcome player feedback to help us fine-tune and enhance your experience with this new game mode. We will be making a feedback chat for them in our 18+ Discord when the Weekly events launch!

• Program X has been refreshed for all users with a new set of Trials and MK-Challenges.
  
• Reagents who complete the therapy may be released into a new international conflict.
  
• 2 new Legendary Outfits have been added for the reborn.

• Challenge your fellow Reagents to intense matches of the timeless game of Chess right in the sleep room.
  
• Other minigame changes:
  • You can now cheer on your fellow Reagents participating in Arm Wrestling matches.
    
  • The names of the World's Best Arm Wrestling players are proudly engraved on the table.
    
  • New rating system to track your performance in Arm Wrestling and Chess matches.
    
  • Enjoy Arm Wrestling and Chess games in the Cafeteria as well.

• We've introduced a new system that rewards active participation in Trials, catering to various playstyles, whether you prefer taking your time or you're a newcomer. This system also ensures that players who choose not to engage in the Trial face penalties. The new system doesn't reward actions such as rushing to complete objectives, speedrunning the Trial, or outpacing your teammates.
  • Player will now receive XP for their performance during Trials.
    
  • Player can earn up to 1000xp based on performance/actions during a Trial.
  • First Time Completion XP have been adjusted:
    
  • Trials now give 1000xp (was 1500xp)
    
  • MK-Challenges now give 500xp (was 750xp)
• This adjustment aims to enhance the experience and address the following scenarios:
  • Earn XP based on your contributions, even if you fail a Trial ("F" grade).
    
  • Encourage replaying previously completed Trials.
    
  • Penalize players for non-participation in the Trial.

• As mentioned in our development update, we previously experimented with unlimited respawns. Although it helped solo players complete Trials, it diminished the intensity of dying and removed some of the trademark tension of playing Outlast. 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.
  
• Solo changes:
  • Respawning now restores 75% (was 100%).
    
  • Reinstated the previous 3 chances/respawns system.
    
  • New item: Respawn Pills can now be found in a trial. (In solo only)
    • Respawn Pills are extra chances allowing the player to go beyond the normal 3 respawns.
      
    • They can be found in some Syringe Boxes and Secret Rooms.

• Following community’s feedback, we are testing a new group finder matchmaking system where players have more control based on their preference. Matchmaking wait time might be impacted based on the selection, region, time of day and other elements.
  
• Access the matchmaking options via the Group Finder button in the Terminal:
  • Any Trial: You will be matched with players looking for a group (any Trial). Matchmaking time: Quick.
    
  • Selected Program: You will be matched with players interested in playing any Trial of the selected Program. Matchmaking time: Moderate.
    
  • Selected Trial: You will be matched with players interested in playing the selected Trial. Matchmaking time: Long.
• Please be aware that even after joining a group, the leader still has the option to modify the selection before initiating the Trial.
  
• We will monitor this change and keep improving ways to play with your friends and strangers.

• Players now have the ability to report players for misconduct, including but not limited to bad behavior, exploits, and hacks.
  
• Appropriate measures will be taken as needed:
  1. Voice chat privileges may be temporarily revoked.
     
  2. Game access may be temporarily restricted.
• Our commitment to fostering a positive community means we will actively monitor and address instances where players intentionally disrupt the experience for others.

• Therapy Level cap raised to 56 (was 40).
  
• Added Tier 3 Prescriptions (Rx). 7 new prescriptions to acquire. (Visit Barlow to purchase)
  
• Added 6 new Amps. (visit Dorris to purchase)

• Barlow the pharmacist has new prescriptions available to help reagents in their therapies.
  
• Added Tier 3 Prescriptions (Rx):
  • Stamina Recovery: Accelerated stamina recovery.
    
  • Deep Breaths: Faster recovery from exhaustion.
    
  • Advanced Regeneration: Health regeneration initiates faster.
    
  • Revitalize: Fully restore health when revived through syringes or respawns in solo.
    
  • Projectile Bait: Throw a projectile at a hiding spot to reveal hidden enemies.
    
  • Medic: Help up and revive teammates faster.
    
  • Resistance: Break free faster from traps and grappling enemies.
• All Tier 2 prescriptions are required to unlock Tier 3 category.

• Dorris the shadowy dame has restocked its contraband inventory with new amps.
  
• New Amps:
  • Recycle: Consumed medicine bottles will become throwable items.
    
  • Battery Charger: The Night Vision Battery gradually recharges when not in use.
    
  • Surplus: Start Trials with a random item in your inventory (medicine, antidote, bottle or brick).
    
  • Lock Breaker: Throw a brick to break open locked containers.
    
  • Night Crawler: Gain an edge in darkness. Your crouched walking speed is enhanced, and your night vision battery lasts longer.
    
  • Last Chance: The last enemy strike reduces your health to 1 HP instead of causing death.(Once every 5 minutes)
• Reworks:
  • Hide and Heal: Heal 1 bracket if you hide shortly after being damaged. Also start health regeneration immediately.

• Engineer Noakes has recalibrated certain Rigs in his workshop after studying how Reagents were utilizing them.
  
• Blind Rig:
  • Increased deploy time to 5s (was 3s)
    
  • With "Deploy Technique" upgrade: 4s (was 2s)
    
  • Deployed mine lifetime is now unlimited.
    
  • Placing a new mine will now disable previously placed mines.
• Stun Rig:
  • Electric Boost Upgrade: Replenish 50% of Night Vision Battery instead of 100%.
    
  • Increased stun duration to 5s (was 3s).
    
  • With "Extended Duration" upgrade: 8s (was 5s)

• The Screamer has undergone significant changes. The stun effect has been eliminated, and players who are subject to the scream will experience a brief period of confusion instead. Additionally, both the detection range and the area of effect range have been decreased and fine-tuned.
  
• Enemies will exhibit increased leniency in their pursuit, thereby diminishing the likelihood of them miraculously discovering your whereabouts when you attempt to evade detection by breaking visual contact with them.
  
• Slightly diminished the AI's sensitivity to footsteps.
  
• Increased time between Pusher and Imposter can spawn from Monster Closets. ‘High Density’ variator is unaffected by this.
  
• Other various AI improvements and bug fixes.

• New stamina bar display setting available in settings. (Off by default in the Standard Preset)
  
• Rig cooldown timer is now displayed on-screen when trying to use the Rig that is under cooldown.
  
• Rig icon now displays remaining time for the last 10s of the cooldown timer.
  
• Rig icon now displays a visual feedback when cooldown timer ends and become ready to use.
  
• A text feedback is now displayed on-screen when the amp’s effect is activated.
  
• A text feedback is now displayed on-screen for some Rig Upgrade effects.
  
• Cell decorations: Chandelier renamed to Candelabra. (Thanks to player ‘Ubergeek’)
  
• The Program Name and Trial Name are now displayed in the Pause Menu.
  
• Player’s Loadout is now displayed in the Pause Menu.
  
• Player’s loadout is now displayed permanently in the HUD while in the Sleep Room (not in Trials).
  • Player can instantly reach the Loadout screen with a new hotkey while in the Sleep Room.
• The Terminal screen now showcases the loadouts of all players.
  
• Revamped the Badges menu:
  • Badges moved to its own tab. (Access from terminal)
    
  • Player must now claim badge rewards once completed.
    
  • Badges counter now display counter beyond “99” (up to 999).
• Badge completion will now be displayed as a notification during gameplay.
  
• Added new Badges (non repeatable)
  • Complete the Exam of Program 1.
    
  • Complete the Exam of Program 2.
    
  • Complete the Exam of Program 3.
    
  • Complete the Exam of Program 4.
    
  • Complete the Exam of Program X.
• Updated milestone of some badges:
  • Gotta Go Fast is now 50 (was 100)
    
  • Bullseye is now 50 (was 100)
    
  • Bamboozle is now 50 (was 100)
    
  • Trigger Happy is now 50 (was 100)
    
  • Anger Issues is now 50 (was 100)
    
  • Recharged (previously Boost Me Up) is now 50 (was 100)
    
  • Downed But Not Dead (previously Step On Me Daddy) is now 50 (was 100)
• Revamped the Records menu:
  • Removed Badges from the Records menu.
    
  • Added Trials history (see your last 10 Trials results).
• Rebalanced price of Release Trophies (acquired after reaching a certain releases milestone).
  
• Picking up an Evidence Document now leaves an opened document at the pick-up location.
  • This feature enables players to ping the location of the acquired document to their teammates.
• Revamped the Evidence Document system: Players will now acquire a randomly selected document from the pool of uncollected documents, rather than drawing from the entire document set at random. This adjustment is designed to enhance players' ability to complete all storylines, making the process more straightforward and manageable.
  
• All players can now freely enter any cell in the Sleep Room without any restriction.
  • Previously, players encountered an invisible barrier at the entrance of other player cells.
• Legendary Outfits are now rewarded after completing the Release Protocol instead of completing Program X.
  
• New visual feedback is displayed over NPCs icons in the Sleep Room when they need attention from player.
  
• An icon/marker is now displayed on the Sleep Room officer when player has enough Release Tokens.
  
• Added Gamepad layout selection screen (more layouts will be added in the future).
  
• It is now possible to change the Toggle Run option independantly between mouse/keyboard and gamepad.
  
• Players will now keep the benefit of Health/Stamina/Battery Boosters for the duration of the Trial, and not lose the benefit after being killed.
  
• Added new text notifications when consuming a Health/Stamina/Battery Booster.
  
• Added visual feedback on battery bar when under the effect of the Battery Booster.
  
• Added visual feedback on stamina bar when under the effect of the Stamina Booster.
  
• Quest items (keys, tickets, etc.) are now displayed next to the player’s name (over the head display).
  
• Added a new setting to turn off head bouncing.
  
• Added a new “low pass filter on high frequency audio (tinnitus)” setting.
  
• Increased amount of batteries and medicines in all Trials.

• Fixed navigation issues/bugs in Trials.
  
• Fixed an issue where menu prompts were sometimes not working correctly.
  
• Fixed an issue where player could sometimes fall out of the map when exiting the Shuttle.
  
• Fixed an issue where player could sometimes get stuck in the Pause Menu.
  
• Fixed an issue where it was not possible for users to map an action on the middle mouse button.
  
• Fixed an issue where it was sometimes difficult to revive a teammate near interactibles objects (ex: doors)
  
• Fixed issues with player shadows and player reflexions.
  
• Solo: Players will now respawn with activated night vision if the respawn point is in a dark zone.

Greeting Reagents! A new update is coming to The Outlast Trials Early Access on Thursday, October 26th that will include a new Trial Map: Courthouse, along with new MK-Challenges and new Weekly Programs! A limited-time Halloween event: Program Geister will also be available in which you can brave the Trials to obtain exclusive Geister Tokens and purchase Halloween themed Cell and Character Customizations.

Note that the October 26th update will mark the end of Program Omega for the time being as Experimental Programs such as Geister and the Weekly Programs are being implemented into Trials.



Now is your chance to vindicate the guilty in Courthouse! This new Trial Program brings along new objectives as our Reagents sabotage the proceedings of the courtroom, silence witnesses, and revoke the authority of the judge. You can complete new storylines by finding the evidence documents scattered inside the Trials to discover more behind the goings on of Murkoff's Sinyala Facilities and its Denizens.


Reagents will come face to face with the new objective enemy, our Scapegoat for this Trial: the Witness. You must use the devices provided by Murkoff during the Trial to locate and silence these Witnesses.



You may also run in to our New Big Grunt enemy skins in Courthouse as well as throughout all the Program Trials.






Program Geister is our limited-time Halloween event that unlocks October 27th and will end on November 17th. Throughout this time you will be able to play through select Trial Programs with new variators:

• Hallucinations?: You see something! Is it the side effects, trauma or something else?
  
• No Player Names: Player names are hidden. Total immersion for everyone!
  
• More Imposters: More Imposters will be present in the Trial. Watch your back.
  
• Enraged Enemies: Enemies are on high alert! Be careful...

Succeeding in the Geister Program Trials is the only way to obtain the Geister Tokens needed to acquire new exclusive outfits, as well as character and cell customizations. You must play Program Geister to unlock these exclusive customization items during the event and you will be able to acquire the items you unlock using Geister Tokens in their respective menus in your cell. These exclusive Geister customization items will be vaulted and won't be able to be acquired once the event ends. Anything you acquired using your Geister Tokens during the event will remain in your inventory keep.

Introducing 3 new MK-Challenges spread across the different Programs.

• Drill the Futterman: People are not toys. Stop Mother Gooseberry from making a human Dr. Futterman. Located in Fun Park featuring Gooseberry
  
  
• Release the Prisoners: Only Murkoff arbitrates justice; free the convicts falsely imprisoned for their conspicuous guilt. Located in Police Station featuring Coyle
  
  
• Gather the Children of God: Too much mother-love makes a weak child. Gather the children and bring them to the priest for a more strenuous education. Located in Orphanage featuring Gooseberry
  

Weekly Programs are a mix of Trials, MK-Challenges, and Variators revolving around one theme. The Weekly Programs will change every Friday and is available for one week only. Be ready to be surprised by what's coming in the following months! The inaugural Weekly Program will begin right after the Geister special event, on November 17th.

Weekly Programs present challenges that will push you to consider customizing your loadout to counter the variators at play. Note that we have new Amps and Prescriptions to beef up your Reagent and help ensure you are at peak performance. Since the Weekly Programs are experimental, your feedback will be invaluable in helping us fine-tune and enhance the experience. We will be making a feedback chat for them in our 18+ Discord when the Weekly events launch!

Through the years of making The Outlast Trials, we have documented parts of our development process. Check out our Documentary, Outlast: The Challenges of Trials, to get a slice of the thrilling ups and downs as we navigated the challenges of creating our first multiplayer horror game. Deciding to dive into creating a co-op multiplayer experience and taking the Outlast franchise into a new direction was a hard feat but it was one that we met with determination.

The player feedback that we received during Closed Beta and since Early Access launch has helped us tremendously. Through our surveys, game metrics, and socials, we've been able to gauge our player sentiment and plan for the future of The Outlast Trial's features and content. Thank you all for being such an integral part of our journey!


{LINK REMOVED}Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!

Join the community on our 18+ Discord server and let us know if you encounter any issues in-game through our ticketing system, give your feedback on the Trials, and even find fellow Reagents to complete Trials with!

Our full patch notes will be out before the update on October 26th.

See you in the Sleep Room!
- The Red Barrels Team

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...