Outer Worlds 2 Price Cut is Good News for Gamers, But Could Be Bad News for Xbox

Obsidian recently announced that The Outer Worlds 2 will launch at a lower price than initially stated. The sudden shift from $80 to $70 came just months ahead of The Outer Worlds 2's October 29 release, and while players may find it a cause for celebration, the price cut raises questions about what may be happening behind the scenes at Xbox.

When The Outer Worlds 2's launch price was revealed to be $80 just last month, players didn't take to it kindly. It marked the first Xbox game to embrace what looked to be the new pricing standard for AAA titles, first established by Nintendo for Mario Kart World. Microsoft even planned to endow all of its future AAA first-party games with the $80 price tag, but the Xbox parent has changed its mind following the backlash to The Outer Worlds 2, and perhaps some less-than-encouraging telemetry on the backend.

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On July 23, Obsidian confirmed that The Outer Worlds 2 will launch at $70, matching what players have come to expect for AAA games in recent years. Those who pre-ordered The Outer Worlds 2 at the higher price are being offered a $10 refund, and as previously announced, the game will be available day one on Xbox Game Pass. While Obsidian framed the decision as a consumer-friendly move in response to feedback, it raises deeper questions about whether Microsoft possibly saw worryingly low full-priced pre-order numbers for The Outer Worlds 2, and therefore elected to backpedal on the initially-planned $80 price tag.

The Outer Worlds 2 Might Have Flopped Because of the $80 Price Tag

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The Outer Worlds 2 is already heading into a jam-packed fall season comprising major releases like Ghost of Yotei, Ninja Gaiden 4, Battlefield 6, Borderlands 4, and more, and Microsoft's sales projections may have indicated that at $80, the Obsidian sci-fi RPG would've fallen completely flat in terms of full-price purchases. Then there's also the concern about The Outer Worlds 2's day one Xbox Game Pass launch, where players could simply sign up for a month or two, play the RPG in its entirety, and cancel their subscription - all for a fraction of $80. This would obviously be a huge net loss for Microsoft and Obsidian, and is a prevalent example of how Game Pass can eat into premium game sales.

Regardless of the reason, the Outer Worlds 2 price cut is not only a welcome move for Obsidian fans, but will hopefully ensure better chances of success for the sci-fi RPG in the chockablock fall season. It should also be interesting to see if this ordeal has led Microsoft to reconsider the $80 price tag for future Xbox first-party games. It could well be that the gaming giant only prices its most high-caliber games, like Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, at $80.