OG Fallout artist Leonard Boyarsky says The Outer Worlds 2 almost had its own 'old school Obsidian' evil ending, but it took too much effort for too little payoff: 'I love making these types of games, but it is very stressful'

Aza, a companion from The Outer Worlds 2 with short black and red hair, blue eyes, and strange gadgetry equipped.

I really love The Outer Worlds 2⁠—so much so that even after reviewing it, I've already started my second character. One thing that stood out to me, though, is that you can't side with the Arcadia system's resident collectivist surveillance state, the Protectorate⁠—you can't even earn or lose reputation points with them like the other factions, and Protectorate NPCs are almost uniformly hostile.

According to creative director Leonard Boyarsky, it was fairly late in development that Obsidian cut off this path.