Groningen game Outbound already worldwide success

The unreleased game Outbound from the Groningen studio Square Glade Games is already a striking success. More than 500,000 players worldwide tried the demo, while more than 1.5 million people put the risk on their wishlist. According to game expert Willem Hilhorst, this is exceptional for an independent game and Outbound can become one of the most successful Dutch indie games ever.

In Outbound players go to nature with a motorhome van that they can step by step expand and adapt. The focus is on freedom, discovery and creativity. The game is developed by a relatively small team led by Marc Volger and Tobi Schnackenberg, which makes the success extra special. Internationally the game attracts a lot of attention and surpasses even previous Dutch indie hits such as SCHiM in popularity and reach.

It is striking that the game started worldwide early, including in Japan, where the popularity surprised the makers. This shows that Outbound appeals to a wide international audience, even before the officialëLe release has taken place.

In the meantime, the developers themselves remain sober and focus mainly on finetuning the game for the release on April 23rd. Despite the high expectations they feel little extra pressure and the focus is on delivering the best possible end product. They were criticized recently for a less well optimized version for the Nintendo Switch. According to the creators that was an important learning moment, allowing them to further improve the game vóóR the launch.

Experts estimate that if about 30% of wishlists actually purchase, Outbound can become a huge hit. In that scenario, the game might be the limit of éé1 million copies sold. This would not only be a major milestone for Square Glade Games, but would also give an important boost to the game industry in Groningen, which is increasingly on the map as a breeding ground for talented developers.