Philippe Morin, co-founder of Outlast studio Red Barrels, told GameSpot that a past playtest ended when one participant ran out of the studio crying and never came back. Morin tied the series' gore to personal preference rather than calculated trend-chasing, and said the studio vets applicants on the content they will handle. He also recalled a hire who quit on the Thursday of their first week.
Red Barrels' co-op survival horror game The Outlast Trials set a new Steam concurrent player record of 94,507, according to SteamDB data cited in coverage of the game's autumn sale surge. The previous all-time peak, 36,689, came at early access launch in May 2023, so the new figure is roughly 2.5 times that number. The jump began on October 1 with Steam's autumn sale, where the game is discounted 90 percent from 4,500 yen to 450 yen until October 9. Cosmetic downloadable content is also up to 90 percent off. The September release of the Season 7.1 update added the limited-time Chemical Leak event, which runs until October 6 at 10:00 AM ET and fills trial areas with toxic gas that players must shut off at scattered valves. The same update added two MK Challenges, CHANGE THE PROGRAM and FUND THE CAMPAIGN, plus balance and stability adjustments to the Invasion and Escalation modes.
Red Barrels released a cinematic trailer for The Outlast Trials Season 7, 'Project Boneyard.' The new season introduces the Prison Farm trial environment, a new enemy called The Biter, and customization options for rigs and knives along with loadout preset registration. Escalation and Invasion modes receive overhauls. Sergeant Leland Coyle returns. The game is available on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms and holds a 'Very Positive' rating on Steam.