Microsoft backtracking on The Outer Worlds 2 pricing

Well, look at that. Microsoft tried to pull a fast one and got caught, walking back their boneheaded decision to price The Outer Worlds 2 at a staggering $80/£70. Now it's a slightly less insulting $70/£60, but the sheer nerve of it deserves a closer look.

Let's be real about what this series is. The first Outer Worlds came from Obsidian back when they were still having financial troubles. It was their first real stab at a 3D world after their isometric RPGs, and it was very much a double-A game at most. The gameplay was fine, the story was ok, but the whole thing was just... mid. Nothing special, and its original price reflected that. Honestly, it was so mid it completely shattered my illusion of post New Vegas' Obisidian.

Yet somehow, Microsoft's genius executives decided, yes, this sequel that few people were screaming for should absolutely be priced as a premium, AAA experience. They didn't even bother with the £60 price point that's becoming standard; they blew right past it and went straight for £70. This is after their other mid-tier RPG, Avowed, launched earlier this year at £60.

We all know the corporate strategy here. Jack up the retail price to make their Game Pass subscription look like an unbeatable deal. They want to boast about their subscriber numbers. But as we've discussed, Game Pass is a bleeding hole in their budget, and the strategy of funneling people into a sub by making individual games ridiculously expensive is failing. They actually need to sell copies, too.

Except, who exactly did they think was going to pay £70 for a literally double-A, mediocre sequel? Ironically, it's a game that’s famously about anti-capitalism, no less. That price is a hard enough sell for genuine AAA blockbusters and unique experiences, this ain't no Mario Kart. It's crystal clear the pre-order numbers must have been absolutely abysmal for them to backtrack this fast. Even the new price is still pushing it.