Microsoft Reverses $80 Pricing for The Outer Worlds 2, Issuing Refunds for Pre-Orders

Microsoft has made a heel turn on the pricing for The Outer Worlds 2, bringing it down to the industry standard $70 from the initially announced $80 price point. The Xbox parent said in a statement it would keep its full-price holiday releases, including the upcoming RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, at the standard pricing of $69.99. The price of the standard edition of The Outer Worlds 2 was set at $79.99 at Xbox Games Showcase in June, a month after Microsoft said it would raise prices for some of its first-party games.

The Outer Worlds 2 New Price

Obsidian confirmed the new price in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday and said it would refund the difference to players who had already pre-ordered the game across supported storefronts.

“We have received your SOS via skip drone about the pricing,” Obsidian said in an update on its website. “As an organization devoted to making sure that corporations do not go unfettered, we have worked it out 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.”

In a statement (via IGN), Microsoft said: “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.”

Obsidian detailed the reimbursement process across Steam, Battle.net, Xbox/ Windows, and PlayStation in the post on its website. On Steam, transactions will be reversed and re-charged at the new $69.99 price point (Rs. 5,499 in India). On Battle.net, previous pre-orders will be cancelled, and players will have to manually pre-order the game again at the new price, if they choose to do so. On Xbox/ Windows and PlayStation, users will be refunded the $10 difference.

$80 The Next Industry Standard? 

The Outer Worlds 2 received a Direct presentation following the Xbox Games Showcase on June 8, where the developer revealed that the standard edition of the game would be priced at $79.99. This followed Microsoft's announcement in May that it was raising prices for its Xbox games, consoles, and accessories. The company cited “market conditions” and the “rising cost of development” as the reasons behind the price hike. It said it would adjust prices for some of its first-party games from $70 to $80 this holiday season.

The debate around the $80 price point for AAA games has gathered steam over the past few months. Nintendo launched its Switch 2 flagship title Mario Kart World at $80 in June, but kept Donkey Kong Bananza, which was released this month, at $70.

Last month, after weeks of speculation and controversy around Borderlands 4's pricing, publisher 2K and developer Gearbox confirmed that the game would not cost $80 and instead maintain the $70 standard. Ahead of the confirmation, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford had drawn criticism over for saying a “real fan” would be okay paying $80 for a game.

The Outer Worlds 2 will launch on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S/X on October 29.