groze: Apparently this was delayed to "Autumn 2017". Some rumours say upcoming November, but nothing official on it.
Also, according to rumours, as well, they *are* planning to ship Outcast: Second Contact with Denuvo, so chances of a GOG release seem to be pretty slim. I'd say they are slim even without the game being riddled with Denuvo. Outcast seems to be pretty dead here on the GOG forums, whereas it's still kind of at least on "life support" on Steam. Quiet, but not dead, at least.
Outcast is one of my biggest disappointments here on GOG, and I honestly don't think this HD remake will change that, since they won't be changing the awful story, the unfunny humour or the characters that are completely devoid of any sort of charisma. But at least I'm happy with the new art direction, Cutter Slade looks cool, at least, and now I can tell the difference between Talan, which probably makes the game easier, since I would probably know who to talk with to advance the game, considering they aren't just copies of the same two or three Talan models. The world is no longer limited by a voxel engine, so mountains now *actually* look like mountains, and not just termite mounds. It actually looks gorgeous and quite impressive. I also like the new GUI, which shows the names of the people over their heads and the context sensitive button with its appropriate action. I absolutely do not like, though, that they're keeping the same cringe-inducing original English voice acting talent. Seriously... I believe the French and German dubs are great, that's what people keep telling, but the English version is definitely some of the worst voice acting I've ever heard in a video game. Spend some money and get a half-decent team of voice actors, please... just don't keep this crappy EN dub, it really doesn't fit the new protagonist and Talan models.
Gotta say, but many of those negatives you listed aren't considered negatives by this game's fanbase, myself included. While the story won't win any awards, it's not exactly "awful", if anything it comes off more as a Stargate alternative and that's never a bad thing. The game is full of endearing moments and fun, silly dialog with fairly memorable characters, even the ones that too often share the same model. There are so few games nowadays that don't take themselves super seriously and do it well enough that it'd be a tragedy if that were to change here.
I couldn't even begin to imagine the game with different English voices. Sure, re-record with the original actors, assuming they can convey their characters as they did in the original, but new voice talent for Cutter? Forget it. I, for one, like his voice with its dry sarcastic wit.
The one thing I would like changed, though, is Cutter's running animations. Maybe some of his weapon handling animations, too, but definitely the running.
All that said, while I wish the devs success with this remake, I hate seeing Denuvo or any obtrusive DRM stuck to any game and that's certainly going to stifle my "must have it now!" enthusiasm. I'm guessing it's their publisher making that decision, if it comes with it, but doesn't make it any less annoying. Really deserves to be on GOG, too.