Outpost Games

Outpost Games was a video game development startup established in 2014 by co-founders Sachin Pansuria and Wright Bagwell. The team consisted of industry veterans from prominent companies like Electronic Arts and Zynga, who had worked on successful franchises such as Dead Space and Farmville 2. Their shared vision was to create games that were as engaging to watch as they were to play, focusing on turning players into performers.

The company secured $6.2 million in a Series A funding round in July 2015, led by Benchmark. Other investors included Time Warner Investments, Advancit Capital, and UCLA Ventures. This capital was intended to fuel the development of their platform technology, tools, and content. The core philosophy of the company, inspired by Simon Sinek's "Start with Why," was to showcase player skill and creativity, viewing players not just as consumers but as content creators themselves.

Outpost Games' flagship project was "SOS," a multiplayer survival game designed to function like a reality TV show. In SOS, 16 players were placed on an island and tasked with finding a relic and escaping on a helicopter that only had three seats. The game heavily emphasized social interaction, with in-game voice chat being a core mechanic, encouraging players to form alliances or betray each other. This focus on close-quarters interaction was reinforced by the deliberate exclusion of long-range weapons. The startup also developed a complementary platform called Hero, designed to integrate audience participation directly into the gameplay, allowing viewers on their proprietary streaming service, hero.tv, to influence events like airdrops.

Despite an innovative concept and initial positive reception during its alpha testing phase, Outpost Games ultimately ceased operations. The company had expanded its team in late 2017, bringing on executives from Twitch, YouTube, and Machine Zone to bolster its content, platform, and tech leadership. SOS launched on Steam Early Access in early 2018. However, the company faced challenges, and the game eventually transitioned to a free-to-play battle royale model before the studio shut down.

Keywords: Outpost Games, SOS game, Wright Bagwell, Sachin Pansuria, Hero platform, performative gaming, multiplayer survival game, interactive streaming, Benchmark, Time Warner Investments, player-as-performer, game development studio, reality show game, social survival game, deadpooled startup, video game broadcasting, early access games, game streaming platform, audience participation games, player content creation