Although we weren't exactly blown-away by the recent co-op looting and shooting of Outriders, there's no denying its success in terms of reach. With over 3.5 million unique players in its first month out in the wild, publisher Square Enix is going so far as to say that it's "on track to become the company’s next major franchise".

Which is pretty big news when you factor in that Square Enix is the home of Final Fantasy and Tomb Raider.

“With over 3.5 million unique players, average play times of over 30 hours and extremely high engagement for co-operative play, we and the amazing team at People Can Fly are so excited with this initial success,” said Jon Brooke, Co-Head of Studio at Square Enix External Studios. “Launching a new game IP is never easy and we remain very grateful for the community’s support and feedback – we continue to listen carefully and want to assure everyone that we are committed to improving and enhancing the experience in the coming weeks and months. We also look forward to expanding on Outriders in the future.”

This is great news for fans of the game as Outriders launched without a live service model or a season pass or a roadmap featuring timely expansion drops. A standalone experience that offers up its own take on endgame by offering up time-based challenges to players and groups alike looking to hone their skills. Again, even though we weren't impressed with the game itself the ability-based combat and focus on fast-paced action is enough framework to create a long-lasting franchise. And the sort of sequel that improves on the original.