Outriders servers down: developers of hotly-anticipated game hit with abuse due to launch issues
The cross-platform space shooter struggled to manage huge demand on launch day
Outriders servers were down, but appear to be back online and gamers can finally enjoy playing the hot new game. However, players launched frustrated attacks on the developers during the outage.
The game launched on 1 April, but – no April fool – the servers severely struggled as players scrambled to get online.
Over the weekend, tweets on the official Outriders Twitter page have given regular updates on the status of the servers and whether they were down, with clear instructions on how to best get online.
As of 4 April, the servers were “fine” and the game had its highest number of concurrent players.
Servers today are looking… fine? ?
And we're at our highest concurrent player-peak to date? ?
— Outriders (@Outriders) April 4, 2021
A full cache clear, on both PC and consoles (by resetting it), appears to fix the issue, though wait times are still up to 10 minutes.
The developers have been diligently working over the weekend to ensure the online shooter is playable and many fans have thanked them on social media for their hard work and dedication.
However, there’s also been a barrage of negativity and abuse thrown at the developers.
Some gamers blamed the inclusion of the game on Xbox’s Game Pass from launch as a cause of issues. The paid subscription service allows users to access a whole host of games often at launch, proving Microsoft’s dedication to the service. The perception from some gamers, though, is that the Game Pass users have less right to play a game than others who buy a copy outright.
The situation with Outriders is just the latest example of game community managers receiving abuse.
Game designer Daley Kong, who worked as a CM on Rare’s Sea of Thieves, posted a thread on Twitter discussing the Outriders news.
“The replies give me major flashbacks to when I launched Sea of Thieves with a team of CMs at Rare,” she said.
“The abuse we got was so damaging that Rare hired in a psychologist to give us group therapy.
“Seriously. Disgusted by people. You cause real harm.”
The replies give me.major flashbacks to when I launched Sea of Thieves with a team of CMs at Rare.
The abuse we got was so damaging that Rare hired in a psychologist to give us group therapy.
Seriously. Disgusted by people. You cause real harm. https://t.co/wbx1hECMPf— Daley Kong (@Daley_Kong) April 4, 2021
She went on to note how many CM’s burn out and leave due to the amount of abuse from gamers on social media.
“Even if you log off work, they still find your personal accounts and abuse you there,” she said.
“You can block, but you still have the knowledge that people are trying to get to you to yell at you about something you have no control over, when you’re just trying to make some dinner.”
With so many games launching online – least of all during a pandemic – there are bound to be teething issues. Abusing the developers on social media is not the answer.
Despite the issues, the player response to Outriders has been mostly positive.
Check out a trailer for the game below.
