Outriders Pre-Load And Launch Schedule Announced

Outriders is just a week from launch, and Square Enix has shared details on when you can pre-load and then start playing the game. Xbox and PlayStation platforms appear to get a slight head start on both pre-loading and launch, depending on your territory.

In fact, on Xbox platforms you can begin pre-loading today. That's doubly significant since it will be available through Xbox Game Pass, so you should be able to pre-load the game through the Game Pass subscription itself. PlayStation will begin pre-loading 48 hours ahead of its release. Square Enix says it is still determining its options on Steam and will share more information next week, and pre-loading on the Epic Game Store is not available.

The situation is similar for launch times. On consoles, the game will unlock at midnight on April 1. In the US, this means midnight eastern time, or 9 PM PT on March 31. The PC and Stadia versions will have one single global release time, set for 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET on April 1. The publisher noted that the PC launch time being unified is due to store limitations, and it chose this time to assure maximum technical support staff will be available to resolve any problems.

Square Enix and People Can Fly also announced a day one patch for Outriders. It hopes to have it ready to go live before the game does, but it may only become available on April 1.

Those times mark when Outriders will officially launch in full, but the demo is still available and your progress will carry over to the main game. That means you can keep farming legendary loot until the full game launches and go in with your best gear. People Can Fly has been updating the demo with fixes, like a recent patch that addressed an inventory glitch. For more on Outriders, read up on why Trickster is the best solo class.