Outriders goes free-to-play on Steam for this week only

Outriders has so far existed in a bit of a strange state as a looter shooter title that shuns the live service label. Indeed, the game is not free-to-play, and has so far only received a handful of content updates, including the upcoming Worldslayer DLC. Many potential players are understandably reluctant to fully commit to this model, which is why publisher Square Enix is giving them a chance to experience the game without breaking out their wallets. Outriders will be available to play for free on Steam for a limited time this week.

The Outriders free play period begins on June 20 at 1:00 PM ET, and ends at the same time on June 23. During that period, players will be able to dive into the full Outriders experience, level up their characters, grind for loot, and raise their World Tier to experience as much of the game’s content as they can get to.

It should be noted that Outriders has a free demo version available on Steam at all times, which limits players to a small portion of the early game. Those new players who jump into Outriders, whether they are buying in or just sampling it during the free play period, can continue their progress from the demo version. It is unclear if any high-tier equipment unlocked during the Outriders free play period will stay unlocked for those players who then revert back to the free demo.

Regardless of how you approach it, this free-to-play period is a good way to test the game ahead of the upcoming Outriders Worldslayer DLC. Worldslayer adds a whole suite of new content, including new story missions, new loot, brand new skill trees for all Outriders classes, and most importantly, a big and highly replayable new endgame mode. Those players who decide to stick with Outriders after the free play period won’t have to wait long for the expansion, as Worldslayer launches on June 30.