Table of Contents
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn Choices Can Have Long-Term Consequences
Owlcat Games has revealed more about how player decisions will shape The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, with the studio aiming for consequences that may not become apparent until much later in the story.
Rather than clearly labelling every decision as right or wrong, the upcoming action RPG will sometimes leave players uncertain about what they have set in motion. A seemingly small choice could change a station, influence a companion’s future, or ultimately reveal what kind of captain the player has become.
That approach fits neatly into the wider themes of The Expanse, where political decisions and personal actions regularly create consequences far beyond what the people involved originally intended.
Owlcat Is Tracking Decisions Behind the Scenes
To track those choices, Owlcat uses an internal system called Etudes. The system records flags and triggers created by player decisions, allowing their effects to reappear later rather than requiring every choice to produce an immediate and obvious result.
Design Director Leonid Rastorguev says those consequences can range from cosmetic changes and additional dialogue to content becoming available or inaccessible. More serious decisions can result in characters dying or contribute towards the ending players eventually receive. Owlcat has confirmed that The Expanse: Osiris Reborn will feature multiple endings, although it has not revealed how many there will be.
Some consequences may instead emerge through conversations, news reports or changes to locations, giving players hints that something they did earlier continues to affect the world.
Companions and Factions Will Remember What You Do
Relationships with the crew are another major part of the system. Players can mentor companions and influence how their abilities develop, while decisions made during conversations and missions can strengthen or damage relationships aboard the ship.
Two companions can accompany the captain directly during missions, with other crew members supporting from elsewhere. Politics will complicate matters further. Earth, Mars and the Belt all have competing interests, and Owlcat warns that maintaining good relationships with everyone will not be easy.
The challenge for the developer is to allow players to meaningfully influence events without rewriting the established Expanse canon. Rather than changing the destinies of major characters from the books and television series, Owlcat wants the captain’s decisions to leave their mark elsewhere within that established universe.
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn Is Coming in 2027
Players will create their own captain as an Earther, Martian or Belter before leading a crew through the escalating political tensions and dangers surrounding the solar system.
Owlcat already has plenty of experience building choice-heavy RPGs through Pathfinder and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. If the studio can make even seemingly insignificant decisions resurface hours later, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn could give players plenty of reasons to wonder whether they really made the right call.
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is currently planned for release in spring 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
