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$80 games are here, Microsoft's pricing of The Outer Worlds 2 raises eyebrows

Nintendo announced Mario Kart World for the Switch 2 with an $80 price tag, and it was expected other studios and publishers would follow it. Well, it didn't take long for Microsoft to copy it.

Several games were announced at the Xbox Games Showcase. One particular title attracted attention from gamers, The Outer Worlds 2. The sequel to the 2019 first-person sci-fi RPG was initially announced in 2021. Fans had been eagerly anticipating the second game, and seemed to be rather happy with the trailer that dropped yesterday.

However, their joy turned to shock when they discovered that Microsoft had priced The Outer Worlds 2 on Steam at $80 in the U.S., 80€ in Europe, £69.99 in The United Kingdom. What was even more surprising was Microsoft's choice of game for the hefty price tag. The Outer Worlds has a niche fan-following unlike chart toppers like Doom, or Call of Duty, those games sell in the millions. Why price this not-so-popular game at 80 bucks?

Last month, Microsoft had announced a price increase for its Xbox consoles. It had also confirmed that the prices of digital Xbox games will increase to $80 in the future. Sadly this has come sooner than anticipated. Gamers and experts have criticized The Outer Worlds 2's pricing. Even fans of the sci-fi franchise weren't pleased calling it, "absolutely f***ing not", many fans advised others to wait for a sale to get it for cheaper.

It is possible that this high pricing strategy would drive gamers to subscribe to Game Pass, which could be Microsoft's motive. Gamers are now concerned that it may not be long before the price of Game Pass subscriptions go up.

The truth is, there will always be people who buy the games regardless of the price. But what publishers have failed to understand is that such high prices are practically unaffordable for the large majority of gamers, and this number is going to increase over time. Sadly, if games fail to sell according to their absurd expectations, publishers take it out on the developers, who had no say in the price of the game.

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