Frontier has been focussing on new game-play elements that are now possible on the imminent console platforms, and emphasise that gorgeous graphics are merely the starting point; they do not make a true ‘next generation’ game. Several key proprietary technologies, which Frontier has been developing for some time, make their debut in "The Outsider" and bring the sort of freedom of action first seen in "Elite" bang up to date.

The game radically enriches the player’s experience by abandoning the traditional, prescriptive, mostly linear story of current generation games, and replaces it by simulating characters’ motivations and aims. This gives the player genuine freedom to change the story outcomes in a way that has not been seen before - each player will get a truly unique, sophisticated, visceral experience rather than simply switching between ‘good’ or ‘evil’. The techniques used are enabled by the greatly increased processing power available to the imminent new consoles like PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.