The Outer Worlds 2, from RPG makers Obsidian, will be the first first-party Xbox game to cost $80 (£70). Given that Nintendo Switch 2 games are already priced at least that high, and Sony’s own PlayStation 5 games have been pushing towards it for a while, you might not expect this development to ignite a pricing debate among gamers – but it did. The increased cost of video games is a hotly contested topic, given the unsustainably ballooning budgets that most blockbuster games are working with these days. But I can say that The Outer Worlds 2 is a much larger, more in-depth game than the 2019 comedy sci-fi original. If we’re going to talk about value, it can certainly be argued that its higher price point is justified.
I loved The Outer Worlds, which was jam-packed with the kind of wry, sardonic humour you’d expect from an Obsidian RPG (this is the studio behind Fallout: New Vegas, after all). Its super-saturated space world, populated by colourful flora, bumbling corporations and strange zealots, was a joy to live in for 20 or so hours, though its combat left much to be desired.
