The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition - Obsidian's first-person sci-fi RPG set in a corporate space colony

[Roguey]

The questions is can you buy the DLC if you only have game pass instead of the game.

You can get it with a 10% discount if you have a gamepass subscription, yes.

 

[Blaine]

Well, naturally. The DLC is where they make the real money, after all.

Apparently The Outer Worlds not only exists and was indeed released, but costs $60 when not on sale. Now, I'm usually the last person to price-haggle, but uh... the developers themselves have said that this was a relatively low-budget initial effort, and it's generally agreed to be 20-30 hours long.

I paid Styg over $200 for Underrail by buying lots of copies and giving them away for free. I paid $250 for Pillars of Eternity (oof) and $1,000 for Numanuma (finally learned my crowdfunding lesson there). I'm not a damned beggar. That said, in this industry, how do you justify charging $60 (and $30? for DLC) for a small-scale, limited-budget effort? I don't understand.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

That said, in this industry, how do you justify charging $60 (and $30? for DLC) for a small-scale, limited-budget effort? I don't understand.

Because how a product is priced has nothing to do with the cost production but more on customer prespective the product (and how that affect sales adn relted investment project matrix e.g. how much to reach BEP, etc).

Most indie games are cheap not (only) due to relatively low production cost but also because nobody would pay 30 USD+ for relatively unknown indie games. A strong example is Rimworld: it is indie games with massive breakout success. While the pricing is still on the indie level, it is one of the few indie games with nearly no sales at all in Steam. The dev knows that most people today know that it is a very good "DF lite" and know they can get away with their pricing strategy (namely having no discount at all).

It is also why Apple products that is made in China can be more expensive than phone made in countries with more expensive production cost than China (e.g. Samsung).

While no concrete data on revenue and dev cost exist for TOW it is generally accepted that TOW is a financial and critical success for Obsidian. It is for all intent a and purposes a "good game" in the mainstream and thus can be sold for higher price point. DLC for such game of course, follow the same strategy.

 

[Yosharian]

Good god that looked AWFUL

 

[JDR13]

They are on pre-production with TOW2.

Source?

 

[Duraframe300]

They are on pre-production with TOW2.

Source?

There's no source for it (AFAIK) apart from Microsoft being very interested in making OW a franchise.
But, Carrie Patel helming the Outer Worlds DLC makes you wonder what Tim and Leonard are doing.

 

[JDR13]

But, Carrie Patel helming the Outer Worlds DLC makes you wonder what Tim and Leonard are doing.

The main game was enough to make me wonder what they're doing.

 

[Bliblablubb]

As big as Monarch sounds kind of nice.

That "+30% +3% walkspeed" perk sounds like a mandatory pick then.

 

[Infinitron]

As big as Monarch sounds kind of nice.

That "+30% +3% walkspeed" perk sounds like a mandatory pick then.

I said that it has as much content as Monarch, not that it's physically as large as Monarch. They also said in the interview that in terms of size the Gorgon Asteroid is similar to Roseway.

 

[Flou]

Source?

Brians Heins hinted about this in one of the MattChats. He is working as a Content Director currently with a very small team on a new large project that is in pre-production. Sawyer's Missouri has been in the works long enough for it to leave pre-production, so it's not that and the scope for that game is small, so definitely not Project Missouri.

Heins worked on The Outer Worlds and Cain & Boyarsky are clearly up to something since Carrie Patel and most likely Brandon Adler took over reins for the two TOW DLCs.

The game was commercially successful. They will make a sequel to it, sooner than later. So few staff members working on it makes perfect sense, so once production on other projects ramps down (the DLCs and Avowed), they have the guidelines for the staff members ready.

With Avowed and Outer Worlds both being "the big projects" at Obsidian, it would seem likely that a sequel to TOW is next in line, rather than them coming up with a 3rd IP.

 

[Wunderbar]

With Avowed and Outer Worlds both being "the big projects" at Obsidian, it would seem likely that a sequel to TOW is next in line, rather than them coming up with a 3rd IP.

they are still going to follow in someone elses footsteps.

bioware: mass effect - dragon age - mass effect - dragon age - mass effect ...
bethesda: fallout - TES - fallout - TES - fallout ...
CDPR: witcher - CP77 - witcher (?) - CP77 (?) ...

Obsidian: TOW - FPS POE - TOW - FPS POE ...

 

[RepHope]

They are on pre-production with TOW2.

Source?

MS has said they want to turn TOW into a franchise. We’ll probably know if they actually will if we hear that MS has bought out Take-Two’s right of first refusal with TOW2. There’s no way MS is letting TOW2 release on PS and no way Take-Two would allow Obsidian ignoring the largest console base. So if Obsidian wants to make a sequel MS will have to buy out Take-Two when it comes to the IP.

 

[Duraframe300]

They are on pre-production with TOW2.

Source?

MS has said they want to turn TOW into a franchise. We’ll probably know if they actually will if we hear that MS has bought out Take-Two’s right of first refusal with TOW2. There’s no way MS is letting TOW2 release on PS and no way Take-Two would allow Obsidian ignoring the largest console base. So if Obsidian wants to make a sequel MS will have to buy out Take-Two when it comes to the IP.

Was it ever confirmed that they even have first refusal rights for OW2?

 

[DalekFlay]

I said that it has as much content as Monarch, not that it's physically as large as Monarch. They also said in the interview that in terms of size the Gorgon Asteroid is similar to Roseway.

That's a big difference in size, but assuming these two packs together are priced like one expansion, it sounds about right to me value wise.

 

[JDR13]

They are on pre-production with TOW2.

Source?

MS has said they want to turn TOW into a franchise. We’ll probably know if they actually will if we hear that MS has bought out Take-Two’s right of first refusal with TOW2. There’s no way MS is letting TOW2 release on PS and no way Take-Two would allow Obsidian ignoring the largest console base. So if Obsidian wants to make a sequel MS will have to buy out Take-Two when it comes to the IP.

Oh joy.

 

[Flou]

they are still going to follow in someone elses footsteps.

bioware: mass effect - dragon age - mass effect - dragon age - mass effect ...
bethesda: fallout - TES - fallout - TES - fallout ...
CDPR: witcher - CP77 - witcher (?) - CP77 (?) ...

Obsidian: TOW - FPS POE - TOW - FPS POE ...

Except they aren't.

Obsidian: TOW - Grounded - FPS POE / Project Missouri - Project Missouri/FPS POE - smaller project / TOW2

 

[Popiel]

It's still not on Steam? Lol.

 

[Bliblablubb]

It's still not on Steam? Lol.

Obsidian most likely signed a contract again that prevents them from releasing it there, unless they got a 84 on metacritic.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

As big as Monarch sounds kind of nice.

so it's just going to be a hallway with a bunch of painted on doors?

 

[RepHope]

Second DLC is called “Murder on Eridanos” apparently: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/07/30/the-outer-worlds-peril-on-gorgon-expansion/

Now, I’d absolutely love to tell you about our second expansion, Murder on Eridanos, but the Board has kindly* asked** me to focus on Peril on Gorgon for now.

Looks like that was one of planets we didn’t get to go to, in this case a gas giant:

 

[Wunderbar]

Second DLC is called “Murder on Eridanos”

it's going to be a whodunit questline.

 

[KVVRR]

These DLCs reminded me how much I'd wish the game stopped being so tongue and cheek and tackled the interesting stuff

Spoiler

(earth going dark)

instead of leaving it as a secuel bait
I already didn't care about any of the colonies when I finished the main game, why would I care about this one?

 

[Wesp5]

Looks like that was one of planets we didn’t get to go to, in this case a gas giant:

It can't be a gas giant so close to the sun, just nitpicking ...

 

[kangaxx]

I definitely won't play the DLC, but I'll keep an eye on a potential sequel. Call me optimistic but with a bit more budget I think they can do better. Much of the content (particularly the marauder encounters in the "wilds" on every planet) was obviously copied and pasted right the way across the game.

 

[Yosharian]

It's releasing on Steam with the DLC right?