AAA video games from major publishers have been trending towards $70 price tags for some time now, but Nintendo took the bold step of crossing the $80 mark with Mario Kart World earlier this year. While it looked like Microsoft was on its way to follow in the same footsteps, the Xbox maker has decided to stick with $70 for its high-profile games for now.
At least until the 2025 holiday period, Microsoft now plans to keep the maximum price for its games at $70. It"s unclear why it"s had a change of heart, but the first confirmed pricing change is for the upcoming Obsidian Entertainment-developed RPG The Outer Worlds 2, which had been announced as an $80 game back in June.
"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," the company says in a statement to Windows Central.
Sticking to The Outer Worlds lore, Obsidian itself posted a message on social media announcing the pricing change:
Dear Galactic Citizens!⁰⁰We 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… pic.twitter.com/skOjxWBXIB
— The Outer Worlds (@OuterWorlds) July 23, 2025
On its forums, Obsidian has also posted information on how players who have pre-ordered The Outer Worlds 2 already will get their refunds.
On Steam, a transaction reversal and recharge will soon occur with the new pricing, with the balance hitting the Steam Wallet. On the Xbox store on consoles and Windows, the original $80 will be charged 10 days prior to launch, then a $10 credit refund will be issued for the remainder. A similar process will happen on the PlayStation Store as well, though the credit refund should arrive within a couple of weeks. Lastly, Battle.net pre-orders will be canceled entirely, with players being able to pre-order again with the new pricing afterward.