'We act as if Halloween is ours': The best way to spend spooky season is within The Outlast Trials' Sinyala Facility
News Source
β’Fri, 30 Oct 2026 17:21:12 +0000
π° What Happened
Red Barrels co-founder Philippe Morin told PC Gamer that a 90 percent discount drove The Outlast Trials to a peak of 147,955 concurrent players on Steam, far beyond the studio's expectations for a horror game more than three years old. He said Halloween has always been one of the series' biggest periods and that the team "act[s] as if Halloween is ours", with a new in-game event making escape from the Sinyala Facility attainable.
π The Backstory
The Outlast Trials puts players in a Murkoff testing facility where they undergo experiments and try to escape, usually without success. Red Barrels self-funded the series after publishers passed on the original Outlast, and the studio has relied on public investment programmes and its own savings rather than outside money.
π― Why It Matters
The spike is a case study in how deep discounts and seasonal events can revive a live-service horror title long after launch, bringing in an audience the studio can try to retain. It also shows the commercial weight of Halloween for independent horror developers, for whom October can define the year's sales.
Red Barrels co-founder Philippe Morin told PC Gamer that a 90 percent discount drove The Outlast Trials to a peak of 147,955 concurrent players on Steam, far beyond the studio's expectations for a horror game more than three years old. He said Halloween has always been one of the series' biggest periods and that the team "act[s] as if Halloween is ours", with a new in-game event making escape from the Sinyala Facility attainable.
The Outlast Trials puts players in a Murkoff testing facility where they undergo experiments and try to escape, usually without success. Red Barrels self-funded the series after publishers passed on the original Outlast, and the studio has relied on public investment programmes and its own savings rather than outside money.
The spike is a case study in how deep discounts and seasonal events can revive a live-service horror title long after launch, bringing in an audience the studio can try to retain. It also shows the commercial weight of Halloween for independent horror developers, for whom October can define the year's sales.