Obsidian Entertainment has dated the first story expansion for The Outer Worlds 2. Side Effects Guaranteed launches on December 2 as part 1 of a 2-part DLC, and part 2 follows in spring 2027. PlayStation shared the date yesterday with a link to Obsidian's first full rundown of what the expansion adds. Check out the official post down below:
The Story Of Side Effects Guaranteed
Obsidian director of communications Mikey Dowling laid out the setup on the PlayStation Blog. The crew picks up a distress signal from a derelict ship and gets pulled into the story of an abandoned settlement, a power struggle over the future of the Sub Rosa criminal organization, and a team of test subjects who have been exposed to something that will kill them all through "explosive cell death." Dowling adds that "it's more a liquefaction than explosion, but it means death nonetheless."
The expansion takes place in Elysium Valley, an all-new region with its own quests and facilities to work through. How the player handles Sub Rosa and the subjects of Elysium Valley carries over into part 2.
5 New Weapons, Including The Immobilizer
Part 1 adds 5 weapons. The Immobilizer makes gravity stop working around its target, leaving the enemy floating in the air so the player can switch to another gun and pick it off. Obsidian suggests pairing it with grenades or the Tactical Time Dilation device. The 1/6 Resolver makes every 6th bullet hit harder, and characters built the right way can land that critical hit without emptying the cylinder each time. The other 3 are a weapon that deals bonus damage to creatures, a special Tossball Stick and a new plasma weapon.
Level Cap, Perks And A New Radio Station
The DLC also brings:
- A level cap increase to 36
- New perks and new flaws
- A new Sub Rosa radio station with 20 new songs
- The Elysium Valley region with unique quests and new facilities
The story triggers right before the point of no return in the main campaign. Players who want to skip ahead can pick Side Effects Guaranteed from the main menu when starting a new game, which loads a premade level 27 character with skill points and perks ready to assign.
A Free Respec Update For Everyone
A free update arrives for all players at the same time as the DLC. It lets players respec their character at any time and adds a custom game option that changes how many skill points are earned per level.
Side Effects Guaranteed is sold on its own and is included in The Outer Worlds 2 Premium Edition and the Premium Edition Upgrade. The end card of Xbox's trailer lists it for Xbox Series X|S, PC, Cloud, Game Pass and Battle.net, and the PlayStation Blog post confirms the PS5 release.
Xbox shared the announce trailer yesterday evening:
The 30-second trailer opens with a character warning that the crew has been exposed to something that will kill them all, before the team heads for a hideout and sets out to recover a scientist. It then moves through a purple jungle and a lightning storm, and closes like a prescription drug commercial, with a box of pills labeled "DLC: Arcadia's #1 Story Supplement" and a narrator telling players to "ask your doctor about DLC."
Where The Outer Worlds 2 Stands
The Outer Worlds 2 launched on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on October 29, 2025. It is set in Arcadia, a colony where the Protectorate is at war with the megacorporation Auntie's Choice and the Order of the Ascendant, and players lead an Earth Directorate team sent to investigate rifts tearing through the colony. The game added a third-person camera option to the series and keeps the first game's branching dialogue. More on the base game is in Obsidian's Latest RPG THE OUTER WORLDS 2 Arrives This Fall.
Are you starting Side Effects Guaranteed with your main save, or jumping in with the premade level 27 character?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.