Shortly
after
the
Xbox
Game’s
Showcase
the
other
day,
Obsidian’s
upcoming
RPG
sequel
The
Outer
Worlds
2
also
got
its
own
showcase.
It
was
a
strong
showing
for
what’s
looking
to
be
a
very
fun
game.
However,
it’s
also
going
to
be
Xbox’s
first
official
$80

following
Microsoft’s
announcement
last
month
that
it
was
going
to
start
increasing
the
RRP
for
some
of
its
games.

Following
the
showcase,
pre-orders
went
live
for
The
Outer
Worlds
2
and
store
listings
confirmed
the
$80/£70
price-tag.

Steam,
for
example,
has
pre-orders
up,
and
you
can
also
find
it
on
both
the
Xbox
and
PlayStation
stores
for
the
same
price.

There’s
also
a
more
expensive
version
available
if
you
fancy
shelling
out
$100.

Of
course,
The
Outer
Worlds
2
will
also
launch
straight
onto
Game
Pass,
so
if
you’re
a

PC
or

Xbox
gamer
that’s
the
more
cost-effective
way
of
playing.

What
I
find
interesting
is
that
this
is
the
first
game
on
the
Xbox
side
to
get
the
price
hike.
When
announcing
the
increase,

Microsoft
said
they
would
raise
the
price
of
“some
of
our
new,
first-party
games
starting
this
holiday
season
to
$79.99.”

To
me,
that
implied
the
big
triple-A
titles.
The
Outer
Worlds,
though,
was
a
relatively
small,
double-A
kind
of
RPG
when
it
released,
and
while
the
sequel
does
seem
bigger
and
probably
has
a
chunkier
budget,
I’m
not
sure
people
are
going
to
view
it
as
the
kind
of
game
that
can
get
away
with
an
$80
RRP.

It’s
not
a
bad
thing
that

The
Outer
Worlds
2
looks
more
like
a
double-A
title,
either.
In
fact,
that’s
what
Obsidian
are
good
at.
Both
the
industry
as
a
whole
and
Game
Pass
specifically
need
more
of
these
smaller
games
that
don’t
have
absurd
budgets
and
hefty
price-tags.
We
need
games
covering
a
wider
range
of
prices,
rather
than
just
being
“indie”
or
$80.

Now,
in
fairness,
we
haven’t
been
given
the
budget
behind
The
Outer
Worlds
2,
so
this
could
be
Obsidian
trying
to
step
into
the
triple-A
space
with
a
bigger,
punchier
RPG,
but
while
the
game
does
look
very
pretty,
nothing
in
the
showcase
gave
me
that
kind
if
vibe.
No,
it
looks
more
polished
than
the
last
few
Obsidian
games,
and
I’m
super-hyped
to
play
it
because
I
loved
The
Outer
Worlds,
but
still
falls
into
the
double-A
category
from
what
I’ve
seen.

In
short,
The
Outer
Worlds
2
seems
like
a
peculiar
choice
to
be
leading
Xbox’s
charge
toward
a
new
standard
price-point.
When
they
said
“some”
games
would
be
increasing
to
$80,
I
assumed
they
meant
big-hitters
like
the
upcoming
Fable
perhaps,
or
the
next
Gears
of
War
or
Halo.
But
The
Outer
Worlds
was
already
a
fairly
niche
game.
Now,
Xbox
wants
to
place
is
sequel
as
the
cannon-fodder
on
the
frontline
of
the
$80
war.