Outernauts
Outernauts was an Adobe Flash social role-playing video game for Facebook. Developed by Insomniac Games, it is the developer's first social video game, as well as their first game for a non-PlayStation platform. The game is published by Electronic Arts and was released as an open beta in July 2012.
Outernauts
- Date
- 2012.
- Publisher
- Electronic Arts.
- Genre
- role-playing video game and science fiction video game.
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Documentary summary
Outernauts was an Adobe Flash social role-playing video game for Facebook. Developed by Insomniac Games, it is the developer's first social video game, as well as their first game for a non-PlayStation platform. The game is published by Electronic Arts and was released as an open beta in July 2012.
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wikidata · Q7112047
In this article
The object
The object
It was announced by Insomniac Games that the game would no longer be available on Facebook from January 31, 2014, and would be ported to iOS. The game was shut down on February 1, 2016.
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Outernauts • Developer — Insomniac Games • Publisher — Electronic Arts • Genre — Role-playing, social network game • Platforms — Adobe Flash, iOS (February 2014) • Release — July 2012 (open beta)
Gameplay
Gameplay
As Outernauts, players must explore alien planets to capture and nurture creatures with which to do battle, in gameplay similar to the Pokémon series. Player actions are limited by "energy", an in-game resource that accumulates over time, but which can also be purchased with real-world currency.
Closure
Closure
On December 10, 2015, Insomniac removed all microtransaction options from the game, preceding the final shut down of the game on February 1, 2016. Insomniac explained that despite having millions of players since launch, the current player base was too small to profitably sustain the game.
History of the object
Dated record
History of the object
The full dated record · 2 entries
2012
Outernauts published.
2012
Outernauts is recorded as published in 2012.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
United States.
Country
Outernauts is associated with United States.
Country
Reception
The game enjoyed a positive critical response, earning a score of 7/10 from GamesTM and 6/10 from Eurogamer, despite being described by the latter as an "utterly shameless" Pokémon clone. Critics praised the game's presentation, with Eurogamer noting its "classy cartoon visuals, slick orchestral soundtrack and finely-tuned UI." Eurogamer commented on the size of the game's world, describing how even with a week of play, most of the galaxy map had yet to be unlocked. GamesTM too, praised the game world as "interesting to explore", the characters "providing a sense of unknown that continues to entice". Inside Social Games compared the depth of Outernauts gameplay favorably to other social games, but warned that the social viral mechanics, such as "nag screens" and "pay to win" mechanics would ward off the core gamers it set to attract. GamesTM likewise, found the energy system to be the game's biggest hindrance, and one which could frustrate by interrupting gameplay. Despite this, GamesTM concluded that Outernauts was "a step up on most Facebook games".
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 19 August 2026.
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