Well, capitalism is going to capitalism, I guess. Apparently, Xbox didn’t get the message, so it’s following Nintendo’s lead and charging a whopping $80 for The Outer Worlds 2.
If you haven’t been following the massive gaming news cycle, we just got back-to-back gaming showcases, from Summer Games Fest and PlayStation’s State of Play to the Xbox Games Showcase.
As part of the latter, we finally got a deep dive into The Outer Worlds 2, a sci-fi RPG that’s an extreme parody of our current capitalist society. Even the narrator in the trailer said, “An adventure made for capitalism by capitalism.”
Fans, including myself, were stoked when we got the deep dive. I mean, come on, Bad Knees is such a funny perk, though not as amusing as the real-life joint fatigue you'll be feeling from shouldering the weight of gaming's favorite new number.
Let’s get into this $80 nightmare.
The Outer Worlds 2: We, the people, are not happy
The Outer Worlds originally launched at $60. Granted, that was in 2019, but jumping to $80 is wild.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Obsidian Entertainment, and it doesn’t get to decide the price, but this is rough. Now, I do subscribe to Xbox Game Pass, so I won’t be paying anything outside of that subscription fee… which I think is the point.
Why pay $80 when you can play it for like $20 per month? If you beat it in three months, you’ll save money. Game Pass is even cheaper if you’re not buying Ultimate, $10 for Game Pass Core and $12 for PC Game Pass.
Reddit user Suitable_Ad6848 says, “Wait on that s**t.” Same, gamer. The worst part is that the Premium Edition costs $100, which comes with the Season Pass for the game’s eventual DLC. I loved the original’s DLC duo, and so I’ll definitely be playing that.
However, if I didn’t have Game Pass, I’d likely wait for a deep sale. The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition (includes all DLC) is currently available for $24.17 on Steam.
Don't run out of patience, exercise it.
Sure, you might need to wait a few years, but if you give in to this ridiculous pricing scheme on launch day, that’ll just prove to these game companies that we’re willing to pay anything to play.
As far as Xbox Game Pass goes… Well, unfortunately, I can’t resist that. Maybe I am part of the problem in that regard. After all, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate used to be $15. Who knows when it’ll increase again?
For Bahumat’s sake, we don’t even know how much the ROG Xbox Ally X is going to cost yet.
The truth is: If we keep buying, companies will keep selling, and eventually sell for more. But not many people can balance these wild prices with the rising cost of living and the stagnant minimum wage.
Like the narrator said, The Outer Worlds 2 is “An adventure made for capitalism by capitalism.” Unfortunately, it’s unironic.
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