Xbox will not move forward with its US$80 game price bumps after all.
Microsoft is officially backing down from its planned US$80 video game price hikes. The company had previously announced that some of its first-party video games would be selling for up to US$80 beginning this holiday season. This week, however, the company confirmed that it’s going back to its old US$70 price point “in line with current market conditions.”
The Outer Worlds 2, which has already begun pre-orders for US$80, will now have a US$10 price reduction as a result.
Xbox reverses planned US$80 price hikes, offers The Outer Worlds 2 refunds
Microsoft is officially not moving forward with its planned US$80 price hike. The video game company announced earlier in February this year that it would implement a series of global price hikes for its games, consoles, and accessories. Several games launching this holiday were slated to jump from US$70 to US$80 in price.
While this move was seemingly made in advance of the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, The Outer Worlds 2 was the first game to get a confirmed US$80 price point. This week, however, developer Obsidian Entertainment confirmed that the game would drop to US$70 in a humorous Bluesky post. It posted:
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.
Microsoft then provided a statement to Windows Central, confirming the change:
“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.
Via Obsidian Entertainment’s website, The Outer Worlds 2’s pre-order customers will be refunded the current US$10 price difference on Xbox, Windows, and PlayStation platforms. On Battle.net, players will have their pre-orders cancelled entirely. On Steam, their transactions will be reversed and re-charged at the new US$70 price point.
Several game publishers have been moving ahead with US$80 price hikes for their games in recent times. Nintendo infamously slapped a US$80 price tag on Mario Kart World for the Nintendo Switch 2, right after Xbox had announced its own ill-fated price hikes.
