Outbound

Square Glade Games developed and self-published Outbound, a cozy open-world exploration and crafting game set in a utopian near future. It launched on May 11, 2026 for PC and Xbox Series X|S. PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2 followed on May 14, 2026. The world is a peaceful, colourful landscape without danger or hostile forces. You start with an empty electric camper van and an open road with no fixed destination.

About the Game

Outbound builds its loop around slow, deliberate off-grid living in a mobile home. You gather materials from the environment and use them to craft workstations. These stations install directly onto and inside your vehicle using a modular building system. Furthermore, each workstation unlocks new processes such as cooking, fabrication, and crop processing. Every new addition expands what your van can do on the road.

Energy management adds another layer to the loop. You generate power from solar panels during daylight, from wind turbines in exposed areas, and from water generators near rivers. Additionally, your campsite placement affects your production capacity. Meanwhile, growing crops feeds a food production layer that allows fully self-sufficient long-term travel. The game also lets you clear blocked paths to open new regions of the world.

The game supports solo play or online co-op with up to three additional players. Furthermore, Square Glade Games previously developed Above Snakes and won the gamescom CommUnity Choice Award for Outbound ahead of launch. Overall, the experience is intentionally calm. There is no combat, no enemy pressure, and no urgency beyond the rhythm of your own goals.

Key Features

Modular Van Building with Craftable Workstations

The van is both your vehicle and your construction site. Modular parts assemble inside and on top to create new rooms and functional installations. Each workstation enables new crafting processes that expand your production options. Furthermore, the layout of your van is entirely your choice. Consequently, no two players’ vehicles will look or function the same after several hours of play.

Renewable Energy from Multiple Sources

Powering your workstations requires generating electricity from the environment. Solar panels, wind turbines, and water-based generators each perform differently depending on where you park. Additionally, understanding which energy source is strongest in each region encourages strategic campsite choices. Balancing power supply with energy consumption is an ongoing consideration throughout the game.

Crop Growing and Sustainable Food Production

You can grow crops directly on or around the van as part of your daily travel routine. Harvested crops feed cooking and crafting recipes that sustain longer expeditions. Moreover, a reliable food supply reduces your dependence on gathering runs. This gardening layer ties together the travel, crafting, and sustainability themes into one connected loop.

Online Co-op for Up to Four Players

The co-op mode supports up to three additional online players building on the same shared van. Every upgrade and crafting decision affects the home for everyone in the session. Furthermore, players divide responsibilities naturally without the game enforcing any specific roles. As a result, co-op sessions develop a rhythm that feels like genuine shared living rather than parallel solo progression.

Games Like This

Similar Game	Key Difference	Best For
Valheim	Valheim is a co-op survival and building game with a similar emphasis on crafting and exploring a large world. However, it centres on combat, boss fights, and hostile progression rather than peaceful off-grid living. Furthermore, its tone is grounded in Viking mythology and danger rather than Outbound’s utopian calm.	Players who want a co-op open-world building experience with meaningful combat and survival pressure against hostile environments.
Stardew Valley	Stardew Valley shares Outbound’s cozy tone and slow daily-rhythm structure but fixes the player to a single farm. Additionally, its deep NPC relationships and seasonal calendar give it a community-building dimension Outbound focuses less on. In contrast, Outbound’s defining feature is the journey itself rather than a fixed home base.	Players who prefer a stationary homestead with deep NPC relationships and a structured seasonal calendar rather than open-world mobile exploration.
Lightyear Frontier	Lightyear Frontier is a co-op open-world farming game where players use mechs to terraform alien land. It shares Outbound’s peaceful approach and colourful world building. However, it uses mech-based mechanics and an alien-planet premise rather than a van you physically live inside across a near-future Earth.	Players who want a cozy co-op farming game with a sci-fi mech flavour and a focus on transforming alien landscapes.

Game Details

Developer / Publisher: Square Glade Games
Platforms: PC (Steam), Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
Release Date: May 11, 2026 (PC, Xbox Series X|S); May 14, 2026 (PS5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2)
Genre: Adventure, Casual, Indie, Simulation (Cozy Open-World Exploration, Crafting)
Online Co-op: 1–4 players
Previous Title: Above Snakes (Square Glade Games)

System Requirements

Outbound runs on modest hardware for its open-world scope, with only 4 GB of storage required and a GTX 1050 as the minimum GPU. No SSD is listed as required on the Steam page at launch.