Square Glade Games has rescheduled the PC and Xbox launch of its highly anticipated survival title Outbound to May 11, moving it three days earlier to avoid a direct collision with the May 14 early access release of Subnautica 2.
Dodging the Leviathan: A Strategic Move
The decision to pivot comes as a direct response to Subnautica 2 claiming the May 14 release slot. With over a million wishlists on Steam, Outbound currently ranks as the 13th most-wishlisted game on the platform. However, the developers at Square Glade Games acknowledged that competing with the sheer gravity of the Subnautica franchise—which currently holds the top spot for Steam wishlists—was not a viable path.
“The highly anticipated title Subnautica 2 just revealed their release date – which falls exactly on our planned release date May 14th,” the studio explained in a recent blog post. “Even though we are very hyped for their game and big fans of the franchise, we think that it is best to not compete with such a highly anticipated title on that day. We need to dodge the Leviathan, which means that you can start your road trip earlier.”
Platform-Specific Changes
While the Steam and Xbox versions of the co-op camper-van survival game will now debut on May 11, the console release schedule remains partially unchanged. The PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch versions of Outbound are still slated for May 14. This is feasible because Subnautica 2 is not launching on those platforms during its initial early access phase.
Additionally, the studio confirmed that the Outbound demo will be taken offline on May 8 to facilitate the transition toward the new launch window.
Survival Against Industry Titans
This scheduling adjustment is a pragmatic choice for an indie title of Outbound‘s stature. Despite having significant momentum and a massive audience waiting for its arrival, the studio is opting to avoid the market saturation caused by one of the year’s biggest releases. For players, this means the opportunity to begin their sustainable, nomadic survival experience a few days earlier than originally planned.
Meanwhile, the team behind Subnautica 2 has recently clarified its development stance, confirming that despite parent company Krafton’s “AI-first” pivot, the sequel will not utilize generative AI in its development process, noting that while the technology is interesting, it is not being implemented in their workflow.
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