Microsoft has announced that The Outer Worlds 2, along with other Xbox holiday releases, will, in fact, cost the standard price of $70 rather than the $80 the studio previously announced.
In a post on social media, Xbox and developer Obsidian say that as part of “making sure that corporations do not go unfettered” (a tongue-in-cheek reference to the game’s satirical anti-corporate message), the price of The Outer Worlds 2 will be lowered from $80 to $70.
Additionally, Xbox confirmed to IGN that this pricing change applies not only to The Outer Worlds 2, but also to all Xbox holiday releases, so that includes the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. Xbox is also releasing Ninja Gaiden 4 this holiday, but that game was already set at $70.
In its statement to IGN, Microsoft says it’s keeping the prices at $70 “in line with current market conditions”, so although this may be true for 2025’s holiday season, it may not hold for next year.
If you missed it, Xbox made the announcement that it would raise hardware and software prices back in May, with its two major holiday releases (The Outer Worlds 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7) serving as the first $80 games from Microsoft.
That announcement was, of course, met with exactly the same hostility and criticism with which Nintendo was met when it announced that Mario Kart World would cost the same, although Nintendo hasn’t climbed down on its pricing structure.
Xbox is, however, in a different position to Nintendo. Thanks to a recent massive wave of layoffs at Microsoft, which saw in-development projects like Rare’s Everwild and The Initiative’s Perfect Dark canceled (as well as the latter shutting its doors for good), Xbox is arguably in need of some goodwill right now.
For now, though, we can take solace in the fact that we won’t be paying $80 for The Outer Worlds 2 or Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 this holiday season. It’s worth bearing in mind that both games are also available on Game Pass on day one, if you’re a PC- or Ultimate-tier member.
Leave a Reply