Xbox Drops ‘The Outer Worlds 2’ Price After Backlash, Cites “Market Conditions”
After backlash for charging $79.99 for The Outer Worlds 2 — what would have been the first such title for Xbox — the publisher has lowered the price of the game to $69.99. However, the game’s Premium Edition is still $199.99.
On X, the series official account gave the announcement via the “Office of the Director of the Earth Directorate,” in character. “Dear Galactic Citizens! 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. While this will not bring peace to the galaxy, or even your local colony, we assure you all that we are here to fight for all colonies in every way that we can.”
The X account also made light of the situation, showing an edited in-game cutscene representing The Outer Worlds 2 itself punching out the $79.99 price point. A subsequent post also emphasized the new price, and the game being available on PC (via Xbox on PC, Battle.net and Steam), Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 on October 29th.
As with other Xbox Game Studios titles, the game is also available “day one on Game Pass.”
An Xbox spokesperson told VGC, “We’re focused on bringing players incredible worlds to explore, and will keep our full-priced holiday releases, including The Outer Worlds 2, at $69.99, in line with current market conditions.”
While that price has been lowered, at this time of writing the eye-watering $99.99 for the Premium Edition has not. It features five days early access, a DLC pass for two future story expansions, cosmetics in the “Moon Man’s Corporate Appreciation Premium Prize Pack,” and access to the game’s digital artbook and soundtrack.
The initial $79.99 announcement was made in early June, around the time of the Xbox Games Showcase 2025. This was a bitter pill to swallow, being the second $80 MSRP AAA game after Nintendo’s Mario Kart World. As the both The Outer Worlds 2 and its predecessor feature mega-corporations running rampant, it came across as tone-deaf as well.
During an interview that took place a few weeks later, Director Brandon Adler suggested fans would “have to honestly talk to the Xbox folks” about the price. At the time, Xbox stated the decision was “made with careful consideration given market conditions and the rising cost of development.”
This was prior to the massive Microsoft layoffs that also impacted the gaming division.
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