The Outlast Trials "invites you to experience mind-numbing terror" when it launches in early access in May

The Outlast Trials
(Image credit: Red Barrels)

We finally have a release date for The Outlast Trials - May 18, 2023.

The Outlast Trials debuted its very first gameplay trailer way back in 2021, but missed its initial 2022 release window. And now it seems that the co-operative four-player horror adventure won't be released in full this May, either, but will instead launch into early access in the first instance.

Red Barrels' co-founder Philippe Morin confirmed that the data gathered during last Halloween's beta test provided some "insightful feedback and very interesting data", which the team has used to "improve the experience".

Here, check it out in the new teaser below:

"The Closed Beta was just a taste of what’s to come in The Outlast Trials,” Morin teased. "Our first round of willing participants to take part in the trials provided us with some insightful feedback and very interesting data, which we have used to improve the experience."

"Red Barrels invites you to experience mind-numbing terror, this time with friends," teases the video blurb. "Whether you go through the trials alone or in teams, if you survive long enough and complete the therapy, Murkoff will happily let you leave… but will you be the same?

"In a world of distrust, fear, and violence, your morals will be challenged, your endurance tested, and your sanity crushed. All in the name of progress, science, and profit."

"In The Outlast Trials, I've been gagged and dragged into a dirty operating theater. To my right, a man with lacerated limbs whimpers at the hands of a doctor crushing his skull," Joe wrote when he sampled the game during a limited closed beta back in October

"To my left, a surgeon cuts open another screaming patient with a circular saw. Ahead, a nurse approaches, tells me the Murkoff Corporation has obtained my public and private records, and demands that I consent to the company's surveillance as she injects a strange brown liquid straight into my eye. The nurse is then joined by a helper, whose apron looks better suited to an abattoir than a hospital, and the pair drill through my skull, forcibly securing a rusted night vision headset onto my face. 

"Whether you're keen on the horror genre or not, you'll know within the first five minutes of The Outlast Trials if this game is for you."

Keep up to date with all the best games set to launch later this year with our guide to new games 2023

CATEGORIES
Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, GamesRadar+

Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter. 

Read more
Killing Floor 3 screenshot showing a new ZED with a terrifying body augmentation
Killing Floor 3: Everything we know so far
Into the Dead appearing in the Future Games Show Spring Showcase 2025
2D zombie survival horror Into the Dead gets a brand new traumatic trailer and Early Access release date just around the corner
Upcoming horror games - A zombie jumping at a player during the upcoming game, Dying Light: The Beast.
Upcoming horror games for 2025 and beyond
State of Decay 3 screenshot showing a survivor on top of a car, aiming their gun at nearby zombies
State of Decay 3: Everything we know so far
Slender: The Arrival VR appearing in FGS Live from GDC
Slender: The Arrival VR puts you directly into the creepy horror alongside the Slender Man
Little Nightmares 3 Big In 2025
With two not-so secret weapons up its sleeve, Little Nightmares 3 is shaping up to be the "charming horror" event of 2025
Latest in Survival Horror
Silent Hill f screenshot showing the protagonist
Silent Hill f hasn't actually been banned in Australia, but it's not out of the woods yet
Silent Hill f art showing a person covered in plants
Silent Hill f has been pre-emptively banned in Australia, with no reason given for the 'refused classification' rating
Silent Hill 2
Famed Silent Hill artist Masahiro Ito, creator of Pyramid Head, says scrapped concepts of freaky creatures "still exist in my mind" and "their children may be" used in future titles
Silent Hill f: A close-up on Hinako Shimizu's face during the reveal trailer for the new Silent Hill game.
Silent Hill f: Everything we know about the new survival horror game
Silent Hill 2 Remake
Silent Hill 2 Remake devs spent many hours "watching, reading, discussing" fan theories about the iconic Labyrinth level and wanted to "incorporate as many" of them as possible
Silent Hill 2 Remake
Silent Hill 2 remake dev says Bloober played up the original's iconic toilet scene to punish its protagonist for being a bad husband: "The theme here is disgust"
Latest in News
Ezra Bridger in Ahsoka
A Star Wars actor just quietly confirmed that filming has begun on Ahsoka season 2
Mario
A surprise bonus Nintendo Direct is coming a week early: "There will be no updates about Nintendo Switch 2 during this presentation"
God of War
20 years later, God of War's original monster art has been revealed: behold this army of stick figures slapped on a whiteboard, no clue Kratos is coming for them
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe facing off against samurai warrior on red bridge
An Assassin's Creed Shadows fan is showing off some of the RPG's most impressive little details, and it's done more to get me interested than Ubisoft ever did
A woman chasing a shining butterfly with a leaping cat on her shoulder in InZOI
InZoi has a long way to go before it can actually rival The Sims as its director says EA's "spent decades perfecting" the formula
The T6 Power Armor
I'm about to spend over $400 on this iconic T60 Power Armor figurine because "Communism is the very definition of failure"