If you head on over to the official Outer Worlds website, you’ll be greeted with a surprise. Before you can access the main site, you’ll be forced to check out a special message from Spacer’s Choice. Remember: it’s not the best choice, it’s Spacer’s Choice!
If you click the “skip” button on the ad, it takes you right to the special message. To be fair, the fine print very clearly states that you’re not skipping anything, but agreeing to watch the ad! Looks like those jokers at Spacer’s Choice pulled another fast one!
You’ll get one of three ads, all of them pushing Adrena-Time, a consumable item from The Outer Worlds. Described as “liquid caffeine with boosters,” Adrena-Time gives the player +20% movement and melee weapon attack speed for 15 seconds. After that 15 seconds, the player experiences -1 to all attributes and -10% walk speed.
Now, the appearance of these new ads on the website doesn’t guarantee new downloadable content, of course. However, it does mean something. It’s hard to imagine Obsidian throwing these up just for kicks. This sort of drip-reveal marketing is very common nowadays. Combine that with the fact that we know DLC is coming soon and it becomes very likely that that’s what this is.
One thing we do know for sure because we’ve been told in the past, is that the DLC will be story content. So what could it have to do with Adrena-Time? Spacer’s Choice plays a big part in the game’s narrative, so it’s no surprise that it would involve them. The fact that all three ads are for Adrena-Time seems to suggest that the drug will also play a part.That seem like a very narrow focus, but Obsidian has some of the best writers in the business, so there’s little doubt that they could pull it off.
So if this is the lead up to an impending DLC announcement, when will that announcement be? Xbox does own Obsidian, and this Thursday is the Xbox Games Showcase. The Xbox Games showcased is meant to highlight games for the upcoming Xbox Series X, but The Outer Worlds was a major hit, both critically and commercially, so it just might make the cut.
Thankfully, we only have to wait a few days for the showcase. If it isn’t revealed there, however, there’s no telling when we’ll hear more about it. Hopefully, it doesn’t get lost in the next-gen shuffle.