Microsoft and Obsidian Entertainment are slashing the price of The Outer Worlds 2 ahead of the game’s October launch. Previously (and controversially) priced at $79.99, The Outer Worlds 2 will now retail for $69.99, Obsidian announced Wednesday via social media.
“We have received your SOS via skip drone about the pricing. As an organization devoted to making sure that corporations do not go unfettered, we at the Earth Directorate have worked with [REDACTED] to revise the price of The Outer Worlds 2,” Obsidian said, very much in character, on its BlueSky account.
An Xbox spokesperson said that the company will keep its full-priced holiday releases, “including The Outer Worlds 2, at $69.99 – in line with current market conditions,” in a statement provided to Windows Central, implying that the previously announced jump to $79.99 game prices may be on hold for now.
Microsoft and Obsidian revealed The Outer Worlds 2’s original pricing at this year’s Xbox Games Showcase and The Outer Worlds 2 Direct events. The $79.99 price was a shock to many Obsidian fans, despite the Xbox company signaling price increases for first-party Xbox Game Studios games. The original The Outer Worlds, which was published by Private Division, launched in 2019 for $59.99.
Game pricing has been a hot topic this year, as companies like Nintendo have quickly leaped from $59.99 game prices for premium games to $69.99 or even $79.99, as in the case of Switch 2 launch game Mario Kart World. While Nintendo may be able to command such prices for hotly anticipated first-party software, it appears that Microsoft may not be seeing the same demand for Obsidian’s next first-person sci-fi RPG.
The Outer Worlds 2 will be released Oct. 29 on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.
