Microsoft Backtracks on Plans to Sell $80 Xbox Games: Here's How Much You'll Pay

(Photo by Oliver Berg/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Microsoft is backpedaling on plans to charge $80 for some PC and Xbox games.

After Microsoft announced the price increase in May, Xbox studio Obsidian Entertainment this week revised pricing on its upcoming title, The Outer Worlds 2, from $79.99 to $69.99.

The Outer Worlds 2, which launches on Oct. 29 (including for the PS5), was supposed to be Microsoft’s first $80 game released in the US. The company even accepted preorders for the sci-fi action RPG at $79.99. But on Wednesday, Obsidian Entertainment began touting the price reduction on social media, releasing a statement that poked fun at Microsoft.

Microsoft didn’t fully explain why it’s reversing course. In a statement, it said: “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."

In May, the company raised the price for the Xbox hardware and announced that some first-party titles would be $79.99 during the holiday season. Nintendo is also charging $80 for certain Switch 2 titles, including Mario Kart World.

However, it looks like Microsoft has decided to step back, possibly because the $80 price risks turning off consumers from the Xbox platform, which has struggled to outdo Sony’s PlayStation in terms of sales.

Obsidian Entertainment has already revised the price for The Outer Worlds 2 across game stores. If you paid $80, you can expect to receive a $10 reimbursement.

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
Xbox 360 FTW
The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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