Outer Wilds is a space exploration game where you uncover the mysteries of a solar system stuck in a time loop. Blast off into a fully physically simulated cosmos and seamlessly journey from planet to planet in search of the answers hidden in the unknown.

"The benefits to making smaller games with budgets of $1-2 million compared to $40-50 million are huge," said Schafer. "With a triple-A game, when there’s so much money invested, the risks for a publisher are huge. The more money you ask for from an investor, the more that you have to give up.