As spring slowly moves into summer, the undeniable lull of camping calls to many of us. Some of us like to live under the stars with nothing more than a sleeping bag for the night, while others are fans of the full, air-conditioned glamping experience.
outgoing
Qualification: outgoing
Genres: Survival
Released: May 11, 2026
Developer: square clearing games
Available in: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Steam
Price: $24.99
Play Xbox anywhere: ✔️
Xbox Game Pass: ✔️
No matter how tough you are at camping in real life, there are some disadvantages that you will inevitably have to deal with. That is, the insect population, but other elements of Mother Nature are always ready to ruin your camping trip.
If you want to hit the road with nothing but a roof over your head, but also balk at encountering creepy crawlies or bears, there’s a whole new solution for you.
Developed and published by Square Glade Games, Outbound is an open-world exploratory adventure that lets you experience the best parts of camping without any of the downsides (unless you count your thumbs being tired because you played Outbound for too long).
Outbound starts off simple, giving players the opportunity to customize their original character within the world. Players can choose from a variety of hairstyles, a few different outfits, and color variations until they are satisfied with the appearance of their characters in the game. After customizing the playable character, players can turn their attention to decorating the caravan. There are a couple of different styles available to choose from, as well as different color options for the vehicle’s paint.
After deciding on customization, it’s time to take the open path of Outbound. The main objective is to collect resources, craft equipment, and survive, although that last one isn’t as stressful as it may initially seem. Small pieces of wood are scattered around Outbound’s opening map, waiting to be picked up by a player looking to light a campfire and placed in a cozy spot with a view before continuing. Other materials such as stone, berries, and fiber can also be found fairly quickly, giving the player ample opportunity to craft as long as they have the blueprints to do so.
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Blueprints are a little more complicated to obtain, as the player can only download them from dedicated radio towers found in specific locations throughout the map. Each tower has three plans to choose from and requires a download coupon to access. Dump vouchers are made by placing trash and debris found at campgrounds into a recycler located in your van.
Plan options include kitchen, gardening and decorations that can be built for your caravan. Only one blueprint can be selected from each tower, and a tower is deactivated after its initial use. However, previously visited towers may be reactivated with a new signal after a few days, although these reactivated locations occur randomly. Provides the opportunity to pick up plans that may have been overlooked on previous visits.
To access all locations on the map, Outbound occasionally presents players with puzzles and crafting challenges. Bridges may require wooden planks, prompting the player to craft a small portable sawmill and attach it to their truck in order to advance to a new area. Other obstacles may require electronic devices to fix a power circuit or place passwords in a specific area to activate locked terminals.
Outbound features four different maps for players to caravan through, each affected by dynamic weather that can affect your camping adventure. In the first map, players will feed berries to bunnies and will only occasionally experience dramatic weather, such as thunderstorms that prevent a campfire from being lit, while other maps, such as canyons, can be affected by dust storms and excessive heat that requires engine cooling to avoid being left stranded in the sun.
While Outbound is ultimately a peaceful, combat-free camping experience that players can embark on with up to three friends, it’s not always easy. The van’s batteries may die, forcing you to leave on foot in search of fuel, food, medicine, and crafting supplies.
Despite all the challenges of sustainable van camping, there are moments of respite when you relax with a campfire and your friends on the beach, team up to build a ridiculously large house on the roof of your van, or participate in a rave festival on the top of a mountain.
Outbound is now available on Xbox Series|S, Xbox on PC and Xbox cloud gaming with support for Xbox Play Anywhere. Gather your friends and hit the road as part of your Xbox Game Pass last or PC Game Pass subscription.
Square Glade Games has committed to continuous updates for Outbound throughout 2026, with a roadmap sharing plans for future new features.
Later this summer, Square Glade plans to introduce fishing mechanics, while fall plans include more wildlife and a proposed winter update is expected to add NPCs with their own tasks, dialogue, and lore.
