GAME · released

Outer Wilds

Mobius Digital · Annapurna Interactive

Steam artwork — Outer Wilds
Quick read

Outer Wilds is a 22-minute solar system you learn until the sun explodes — then you wake knowing the next door. The save is a fact, and the orbit is a question you will ask again.

What kind of game is it?

Knowledge-based exploration. No XP bar that matters. The loop is a schedule: the sun is the clock, and the save is what you understood about a planet you will see again in twenty-two minutes. A shop would insult the sitting; the next door is the reward.

Who is it for?

For players who love a solar system they learn, and a death that is only a schedule.

How it plays
Loop
Exploring a map
Sessions
Medium sessions
Progression
Runs that reset
Players
Single-player
Structure
Systemic
Tone
Tense · Challenging

Game DNA

What playing it feels like, out of 100. Our reading, separate from Steam reviews.

  • Progression35

    Estimate

  • Story58

    Estimate

  • Social18

    Estimate

Key Steam facts

Steam store figures, checked 17 Aug 2026.

Release
released

2020-06-18

Review score
95.6%

Checked 17 Aug 2026.

Steam positive percent.

Review count
106,597

Checked 17 Aug 2026.

Store price
€22.99

Checked 17 Aug 2026.

Languages
13
Demo
No
Early Access
No
Players
Single-player

How many people play Outer Wilds?

Estimates from public Steam data, not figures from the studio. Ranges, not exact numbers.

Estimated copies
2.7M – 5.9M

Steam reviews × 25 to 55. For a free game: players, not sales.

All-time peak players
7,936

Most people playing at the same moment, per SteamCharts.

Average players, Aug 2026
1,072

Peak that month: 2,125.

Median playtime
27.4 h

Half of 300 recent reviewers played 19.3–39.6 h. 2% under 2 h.

Players over time

Sept 2023: 613 average, 1,291 peakOct 2023: 559 average, 1,273 peakNov 2023: 682 average, 1,530 peakDec 2023: 928 average, 2,425 peakJan 2024: 1,047 average, 2,731 peakFeb 2024: 841 average, 1,927 peakMar 2024: 806 average, 1,593 peakApr 2024: 750 average, 1,452 peakMay 2024: 682 average, 1,489 peakJun 2024: 776 average, 1,660 peakJul 2024: 955 average, 1,671 peakAug 2024: 714 average, 1,251 peakSept 2024: 807 average, 1,715 peakOct 2024: 663 average, 1,272 peakNov 2024: 843 average, 1,893 peakDec 2024: 1,196 average, 2,456 peakJan 2025: 1,232 average, 2,512 peakFeb 2025: 919 average, 1,904 peakMar 2025: 1,010 average, 2,104 peakApr 2025: 915 average, 1,915 peakMay 2025: 771 average, 1,414 peakJun 2025: 928 average, 1,893 peakJul 2025: 1,298 average, 2,105 peakAug 2025: 1,066 average, 2,073 peakSept 2025: 849 average, 1,945 peakOct 2025: 1,012 average, 1,900 peakNov 2025: 904 average, 1,774 peakDec 2025: 1,047 average, 2,138 peakJan 2026: 1,222 average, 2,306 peakFeb 2026: 939 average, 2,070 peakMar 2026: 1,098 average, 2,112 peakApr 2026: 1,108 average, 2,228 peakMay 2026: 1,131 average, 2,548 peakJun 2026: 1,233 average, 2,395 peakJul 2026: 1,323 average, 2,217 peakAug 2026: 1,072 average, 2,125 peak
Sept 2023Aug 2026

Where the players are

Languages of the last 300 Steam reviews. A proxy for regions, not a country split.

  • English55%
  • Simplified Chinese17%
  • Russian5%
  • French5%
  • Spanish (Spain)5%
  • Portuguese (Brazil)4%

Steam data checked 4 Oct 2026

What makes it different?

Death is a schedule. The sun is the clock, and the save is what you understood about a planet you will see again in twenty-two minutes.

Core mechanics

Related games

Nearby games. Not always a direct substitute.

Genre / subgenre

Steam genre: narrative.

Related rankings

Sources

Store price checked 17 Aug 2026.

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