Xbox studio Obsidian Entertainment has been working on The Outer Worlds 2 for a while now - you may remember the team's amusing announcement during the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase of 2021. As far as we're aware the team is still working away on the title — alongside Avowed — and a new Rock Paper Shotgun interview has revealed that Obsidian is collaborating with the creator of the Fallout series on the upcoming title.
Tim Cain, creator of the original Fallout from 1997, worked for Obsidian for a while - including as co-director on The Outer Worlds. Cain has now left the studio, at least in a full-time capacity, but he's still working with the Xbox first party team on The Outer Worlds' sequel. Here's an example of his current work with them:
"There’s stuff they’re trying to do in the sequel, that of course I can’t talk about, that I get pulled in on because it’s similar to stuff I’ve done in the past,
Sometimes it’s just me saying, ‘I’m not gonna tell you what to do, but here are the pitfalls. Here are some of the huge, huge chasms that lie in your way, that you’re gonna have to wend around."
So, it sounds like Cain is more of a consultant for Obsidian these days rather than someone who's working directly on internal development. Still, if you're a fan of his work — particularly on Fallout and the original The Outer Worlds — you'll probably be happy to hear about his involvement in the sequel.
As for when we might see more on the game - we're not sure at the moment. The dev seems more focused on 2024's Avowed right now, and if we were to make any guesses, The Outer Worlds 2 will arrive a good while after that. Let's hope we see more on the title soon... that announcement trailer was such a tease!