Anti-capitalist RPG The Outer Worlds 2 is Xbox’s first $80 game, an obvious Game Pass marketing push, and proof that AAA gaming is truly cooked 

Obsidian Entertainment’s The Outer Worlds 2 looks like a massive improvement over its cult-classic predecessor. Unfortunately, the Fallout New Vegas studio’s next RPG is also launching with an asking price of $80 for its standard edition, and that is just way too much. 

Shown at the Xbox Games Showcase alongside Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, the long-awaited Xbox version of Final Fantasy 7 Remake and the new ASUS ROG Xbox Ally handheld, The Outer Worlds 2 does look absolutely incredible, but is it $80 incredible? 

In all honesty, the answer might be yes in a world where wages have kept up with the massive inflation of groceries, bills and luxuries. Unfortunately, in a world where every company is taking in record profits year-on-year without raising wages, the answer is sadly a big fat no. 

However, Xbox’s massive price increases – which come coincidentally as the brand becomes the biggest games publisher in the industry – feels like an obvious marketing push towards its Xbox Game Pass ecosystem. Yes, you could buy The Outer Worlds 2 and countless other games for $80 on Steam or PlayStation. On the other hand, you could get the game for free (not really) on Xbox/Xbox PC with Game Pass. 

It’s an obvious marketing strategy, and not necessarily a terrible one for gamers in countries where Game Pass actually exists. In fact, we saw a version of this marketing strategy just recently with the Nintendo Switch 2 and Mario Kart World. Will you buy a Switch 2 and spend an additional $80? Or will you get the bundle that gives you the game for half price? 

There’s no doubt that Xbox Game Pass is an incredible deal, but it’s also starting to feel like those who don’t engage with the subscription service are eating a rising cost year-on-year for the sake of others. First, DOOM: The Dark Ages slaps players with a $70 price tag for a 22-level single-player campaign-only game with expansions likely on the way. Next, The Outer Worlds 2 pushes that price tag even higher for Obsidian’s next RPG. 

If that majority of that $80 price tag for The Outer Worlds 2 went to Obsidian Entertainment’s workers, would it be less of an issue? Yes. But the reality is that those making the games you love see very little of that exorbitant price tag outside of indie studios. Unfortunately, as long as publishers exist, that’s just not happening.

We’re living with an industry where publishers are hoping GTA 6 costs $100 so they get away with similar price hikes. Yes, technically, Xbox Game Pass is a life barge for those who play loads of games. But should gamers be beholden to a subscription service that can raise prices at a moment’s notice? Remember, in 2011, Netflix’s basic subscription charged customers just $7.99. In 2025, with millions more subscribers, that $7.99 subscription is flooded with advertisements with viewers now forced to pay $17.99 if they want the experience they were used to. 

The price of Xbox Game Pass will go up, that’s the entire point of subscription services. Every subscription starts with a cheap entry point, then millions join and become dependent on it, then the price goes up, and up, and up. That’s how Netflix works, that’s how Disney Plus works, that’s how your Hello Fresh, Spotify, Amazon Prime and every other subscription works. 

Microsoft is one of the biggest companies in the history of capitalism, it’s a monstrous corporate piggy bank where hundreds of millions are pennies to lose in the couch cushions. Microsoft can afford to chuck millions at games that sell very little, that fail to push the Steam Charts needle that online grifters use to say a game has failed, to push you towards a subscription service. 

As games get more expensive, Xbox Game Pass won’t just be an alternative to buying game releases – you will rely on it. As The Elder Scrolls 6 comes smashing in with a $100 price tag, you won’t buy and own the game, you’ll subscribe for years to keep playing Bethesda’s next big RPG, install your mods, keep your save file and play forever, all while Microsoft gets a steadily increasing monthly pay check from you indefinitely for the convenience. 

AAA gaming has been too expensive for a long time now, and that’s why games like Expedition 33 becoming major successes is so important. Games cost more to make than ever before, but they also cost more when significant chunks of their profits are designated to lining the pockets of shareholders and CEOs and their penchant for buying dozens of expensive cars.

In the AAA space, you can now create a massive, beloved success and still have half your team laid off. Marvel Rivals is one of the biggest games ever and its entire American team was still axed after release. An industry crash is coming, a massive one, but gaming won’t go away – it’s far too big for a crash to make the medium completely vanish. However, changes will have to be made, games will have to get cheaper, and CEOs will hopefully have to buy maybe half the amount of cars as usual to keep their companies afloat. Oh, how will they survive?