AAA video video games from main publishers have been trending in direction of $70 value tags for a while now, however Nintendo took the daring step of crossing the $80 mark with Mario Kart World earlier this 12 months. Whereas it regarded like Microsoft was on its option to observe in the identical footsteps, the Xbox maker has determined to stay with $70 for its high-profile video games for now.

A minimum of till the 2025 vacation interval, Microsoft now plans to maintain the utmost value for its video games at $70. It is unclear why it is had a change of coronary heart, however the first confirmed pricing change is for the upcoming Obsidian Leisure-developed RPG The Outer Worlds 2, which had been introduced as an $80 sport again in June.

“We’re centered on bringing gamers unimaginable worlds to discover, and can preserve our full priced vacation releases, together with The Outer Worlds 2, at $69.99 – consistent with present market situations,” the corporate says in a press release to Home windows Central.

Sticking to The Outer Worlds lore, Obsidian itself posted a message on social media saying the pricing change:

On its boards, Obsidian has additionally posted info on how gamers who’ve pre-ordered The Outer Worlds 2 already will get their refunds.

On Steam, a transaction reversal and recharge will quickly happen with the brand new pricing, with the stability hitting the Steam Pockets. On the Xbox retailer on consoles and Home windows, the unique $80 shall be charged 10 days previous to launch, then a $10 credit score refund shall be issued for the rest. An analogous course of will occur on the PlayStation Retailer as nicely, although the credit score refund ought to arrive inside a few weeks. Lastly, Battle.internet pre-orders shall be canceled totally, with gamers with the ability to pre-order once more with the brand new pricing afterward.