Hypnospace Outlaw sequel: why Dreamsettler was canceled

Hypnospace Outlaw is a 1990s web simulator developed by Tendershoot and published by No More Robots. It came out on March 12, 2019. You moderate a dream internet in an alternate 1999, and the pay is a currency that only buys desktop upgrades. Its creator, Jay Tholen, once sold websites by phone for a company that was, in the creator's words, "very, very Geocities." The fake web grew out of that job. The sequel, Dreamsettler, was set between 2003 and 2005 and was canceled in June 2025 when the money ran out.

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The fake internet started as a level select

Tholen made a two-to-three-week microgame called Hypnospace Enforcer in 2014, while also working on the clown adventure Dropsy. The follow-up's first prototype, from August 2015, was a driving game. Players were meant to chase outlaws down an information superhighway, and the operating system "served as more of a level select screen for players to pick which outlaw they'd pursue next," Tholen told Inverse in October 2016.

Then the desktop took over: "I had so much fun populating it with a fake-internet and interactive doodads that it became the main draw of the game." The Kickstarter launched in September 2016 and had $35,994 from 1,664 backers by an October 4 update. The highway chase survived in a smaller role. By 2018 it was "a game within the game now."

The first plan was a release in early 2018. That slipped to the second half of 2018, then to January 2019, and the game shipped in March. In November 2016 the engine switched from Clickteam Fusion to Construct 2. Mike Lasch had joined that year to program the highway sections. January 2018 brought two more: No More Robots as publisher and Xalavier Nelson Jr. as writer.

At the web company, a client called Psychic Elizabeth Claire wanted her site full of Bewitched references, theme song included. Tholen warned her about the copyright and built it anyway. After the job ended, she left a voicemail threatening to "light a candle for you to break your neck." The game's desktop pet needs feeding and cleanup. If it dies, it leaves a gravestone that cannot be removed. Tholen's own record is no better: "I had Tamagotchi, but I killed it relatively quickly and never picked the poor thing up again." In the beta, the antivirus upgrade HypnoCure Plus cost 9,999 HypnoCoin.

What you do as an Enforcer

You are a volunteer Enforcer who finds and reports rule-breaking pages by exploring the in-game browser, Hypnospace Explorer. The Steam page adds an inbox, plus viruses and adware to dodge. You can dress up the desktop with wallpapers and helper bots. Tholen put the adware in on purpose: "Shifty freeware that may or may not infect your computer with a virus, useless toolbars, and adware were integral to my Web 1.0 experience," Tholen said in 2016.

The in-game calendar starts on November 5, 1999. The official site also lists two creation tools, the Page Builder and the Tune Sequencer, for making and sharing your own content.

Critics gave it 83 and Steam players 96 percent

Metacritic puts the PC version at 83 out of 100, and the Switch version at 84. GameSpot and Nintendo Life gave it 8 and 9 out of 10. Players split: 96 percent positive from 4,420 English reviews on Steam as of October 22, 2026, but 7.2 from 86 ratings on Metacritic.

The game was an IGF finalist for the 2019 Seumas McNally Grand Prize and for Excellence in Audio. At the New York Game Awards it was nominated for Best Music, Best World and Best Writing.

Slayers X shipped and Dreamsettler did not

Tendershoot announced two follow-ups in 2022. The first, Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer, came out on June 1, 2023. It is a first-person shooter presented as a game made by Zane, a character in Hypnospace. The misspelling is in the official title. Dreamsettler, a sequel set between 2003 and 2005 that cast the player as a private investigator, was canceled on June 20, 2025. Tholen's reason: "We just way overscoped."

The announcement came in a video of about ten minutes, and Tholen took the blame. Tholen said it was hard to work in a more structured way on a tight budget. The money ran out, and a Patreon opened a few months earlier did not raise enough. Supporters could ask for a refund of their last payment, which Tholen would cover personally. Some of the finished Dreamsettler material may still be released. No form or date has been announced.

Where to play it today

The PC version for Windows, macOS and Linux arrived on March 12, 2019. Switch, PS4 and Xbox One followed on August 27, 2020, alongside a free PC update called Hypnospace Plus. The Nintendo eShop page lists the Switch version as supported on Switch 2.

Steam asks little of a PC: Windows 10 or 11, 2 GB of RAM and 1 GB of storage, with integrated graphics. On October 22, 2026 the euro store listed the game at €16.79. The soundtrack sold separately for €8.19. It is single-player with Steam Cloud saves.

The iOS and Android versions came out on July 23, 2026. They are free to try, with one $4.99 in-app purchase that buys the full game.

Questions people ask

Is Hypnospace Outlaw a good game?

Critics and Steam players rate it highly: 83 on Metacritic for PC, and 96 percent positive on Steam as of October 22, 2026. Metacritic's user score is lower, at 7.2.

Why was Hypnospace Outlaw 2 canceled?

The sequel, Dreamsettler, ran out of money, and a Patreon opened a few months earlier did not cover the gap. Jay Tholen took the blame, saying a tight budget made structured work hard.

How long does it take to play Hypnospace Outlaw?

No More Robots said on Steam in March 2019 that most players take six to eight hours to finish and about ten to see everything. One player reported nine hours without finding all the hidden content.

Does Hypnospace Outlaw have an ending?

The story reaches the year 2000 and then continues. One release-week player on Steam thought the game ended there and found more to do back in the present day. An account marked as the developer on the same thread said there was still a lot left.

Is Hypnospace Outlaw on Steam and Switch?

Yes. It is on Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux, and on Switch, where the eShop lists it as supported on Switch 2. PS4, Xbox One and phones have it too.