Outlast playtester ran out of studio crying, says co-founder
An Outlast co-founder says one playtester fled the studio in tears, illustrating how intensely Red Barrels approaches horror.
Red Barrels co-founder Phillipe Morin says one Outlast playtester was so upset by the horror game that they ran out of the studio to cry outside — and never came back, according to an interview reported by PC Gamer. 1
The anecdote offers a grimly funny measure of how far the series’ unsettling mix of violence, gore and disturbing imagery has pushed the people making it. Morin said Red Barrels did not set out to make the goriest game possible. Instead, he described the studio’s approach as a natural extension of making horror: the team wanted its games to be frightening, and graphic content followed from that creative preference. 1
The playtest that became too much
Morin’s story concerns someone associated with Red Barrels during a playtest. He did not clearly identify the person as an employee, so the incident should not be presented as proof that a named staff member left the company. His wording was more limited: after a couple of hours of exposure to the material, the playtester ran outside to cry and did not return to the studio. 1
That distinction matters because the story is memorable precisely for its bluntness, but the available account does not provide a name, job title or precise date. Red Barrels’ games are deliberately built around vulnerability rather than power. In Outlast, players explore Mount Massive Asylum as investigative journalist Miles Upshur, with running and hiding replacing the usual arsenal of action-horror weapons. 1
Why Outlast keeps going further
Morin also said the studio tries to make prospective staff aware of the content and conversations involved in creating its games. He described that openness as part of recruitment, while acknowledging that it cannot predict every reaction. One person reportedly resigned within days after discovering that the material touched on subjects they had not expected to find difficult. 1
The comments help explain why Outlast has retained such a stark identity. The series does not rely only on sudden shocks: its horror comes from placing players in environments where violence, religious imagery, bodily danger and the threat of pursuit are part of the setting. The approach can be deeply unpleasant by design, which is exactly why the studio needs to be candid about it with both staff and players. 1
That intensity has not stopped the series finding a large audience. PC Gamer reports that The Outlast Trials reached 500,000 sales during early access and that the wider franchise has attracted 60 million players since 2013. Those figures explain why a future Outlast 3 would have little reason to soften the formula, although Morin’s comments are not an announcement of a new game. 1
Our opinion
The most revealing part of Morin’s story is not the shock value of one playtester’s reaction; it is the reminder that horror has a production cost as well as an audience effect. A game can be fictional, but the people scripting, animating, testing and repeatedly discussing its worst moments still have to live with that material. Red Barrels’ willingness to talk about the boundary is more interesting than pretending that extreme horror is harmless fun for everyone.
The anecdote also needs to stay in proportion. One unnamed playtester leaving a studio is not evidence of a workplace crisis, and it is not a new Outlast announcement. It is a small, striking detail from a broader interview about the creative choices behind a successful horror series — a useful explanation of why Red Barrels’ games feel so uncompromising without turning one dramatic reaction into a larger claim than the source supports. 1