Outriders gifting players "appreciation package" to apologise for launch woes

People Can Fly's new third-person looter shooter Outriders had a rough start to life when it launched last week, with performance issues on PC and a fair amount of server downtime. To make up for the frustration caused by the launch fuss, they're gifting players an "appreciation package", which will contain things like a legendary weapon and other goodies. They've also revealed some of the fixes coming in the game's first big patch, which is scheduled for next week.

Outriders was in pretty rough shape for a few days after it came out, suffering from a raft of issues like players getting stuck in an endless sign in loop, inventories being wiped for no reason, and PC and console players getting disconnected from crossplay matches - that one got so bad the devs had to turn off PC and console matchmaking.

To apologise for the problems and thank players for their patience, the developers are offering an "appreciation package" to anyone who played between March 31st and April 11th. Players who don't fit into that timescale but have been affected by the inventory wipe bug will also get the gifts. They don't say exactly when these packages will go out, but here's what's included:

"Your highest levelled character will receive:

• A level appropriate legendary weapon
• A level appropriate amount of Titanium
• The emote 'Frustration', which is otherwise unobtainable at this moment in time. The irony here was not intentional but is fitting."

As for Outriders' first big patch, there's no exact date for it, but the devs say it'll arrive next week. It'll fix multiple crash issues, such as launch crashes, specific quest crashes, and a crash that can cause inventory wipes. There'll also be "overall stability improvements" for matchmaking, and once the update goes out, cross-platform play will be available again. Another bug they plan on sorting is one that causes your HUD to disappear. There is a workaround for this already if you're struggling with it, which Ollie outlines in this Outriders guide.

A few more changes and improvements are coming too, check them out in the patch notes here.

If you were affected by the inventory wipe bug, People Can Fly are looking to restore your accounts on a specific day in the coming weeks (though that date is still TBC). It will only restore your most valuable gear, epic and legendary items, and it won't replace anything in your inventory that you've collected since.

"After working on Outriders for more than five years, we were as disappointed as you that the launch weekend did not go as planned," the devs say on Reddit. "We would like to thank everyone in the Outriders community for your patience, support and assistance."

Despite its issues, Ed reckons Outriders is pretty alright. Not good, mind you, but certainly not bad either: "It's a staple dish that neither excites nor disappoints. A Dolmio bolognese mixture that borrows from the past to provide an average meal when needed. Sometimes, it is elevated to good when you are particularly hungry."