The Outlast Trials Pivots to Early Access with May Release Date Video

The Outlast Trials is coming to PC via early access on Steam and Epic Games Store with a release date of May 18, 2023, developer Red Barrels has announced. The reveal accompanies a special trailer that seems to show some behind-the-scenes footage of the project’s voice actors putting in the work to make sure every scare is particularly blood-curdling. It’s a fun video, but the real news is that Red Barrels will launch The Outlast Trials into early access instead of giving it a full launch out of the gate. It means that the studio will be particularly open to player feedback as development continues, but it also signals that a console release may be a bit further off than we originally thought.

Red Barrels took today’s opportunity to share more insight into the closed beta for The Outlast Trials that took place last October. Through a four-day period, the test accumulated nearly 1 million players, 225,363 player deaths, and 35 years of combined playtime. It’s a lot of time spent in the studio’s Cold War-era test chambers, and it’s hopefully a good sign that players enjoyed their time there.

“We received so many requests for the Closed Beta that we’re looking forward to welcoming even more players to The Outlast Trials when it comes to Early Access on May 18^th,” Red Barrels said in a statement.

The Outlast Trials was announced in 2019 as a spinoff from its hit indie survival horror series. It maintains the twisted scares the franchise is known for while adding in a co-op element for players looking to put their friendships to the test. Red Barrels has played coy when it comes to revealing additional platforms, but a tweet from last year does hint that console versions are likely in the cards. When they will launch, however, is anyone’s guess.

Pricing is not established yet but the goal is to be on as many platforms as possible at launch!

— Red Barrels (@TheRedBarrels) October 30, 2022

In the interim, The Outlast Trials has its early access release date set on on PC for this May. It’s one of The Escapist’s most anticipated indie games of 2023, so stay tuned to learn more.