Outriders is an always-online game. While you can play the latest third-person RPG shooter from Square Enix and People Can Fly solo, you can’t play it without being connected to the internet. Though it’s not a live-service game like Fortnite, a persistent internet connection is required to play. So no, lone wolves: you can’t play Outriders offline.
That’s a bummer for those who live in rural areas with spotty service or the plethora of players trying to log into the game and getting connection errors — even with the release of Worldslayer.
At launch, servers overloaded by overwhelming demand, and many players on every platform were met with internet connection errors (which also appears if you take yourself offline on purpose by disconnecting your router, for example). And it seems some of those same issues are showing up with the release of the latest Worldslayer DLC, though not to the same extent.
It’s worth noting why you can’t play Outriders offline: Outriders saves character progression server-side. If you go into save data management on PS5, for example, you won’t find an Outriders save file. With that in mind, and considering the game requires a constant internet connection, getting booted can be particularly disastrous if progress hasn’t been saved recently. It’s quite possible to lose progression in boss fights or completely lose acquired gear and weapons if your connection lapses.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a manual save system in Outriders, either, which means it’s worth paying attention to how and when the game records progress. A yellow circle will appear in the lower right corner of the screen, just above your weapons when the game is saving.
Outside of hoping your internet connection doesn’t drop and that servers remain online, it may be worth playing Outriders over a wired connection to make sure everything runs smoothly.
While it does feel a bit strange, Outriders doesn’t have an offline mode — especially since it can be completed solo without playing with friends in online co op and doesn’t have any live-service features — it’s not entirely surprising. Tons of recent games, like Godfall, are always-online or, like Hitman 3, require a connection for progression.
