Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty said the company continues to evaluate pricing for its new releases.
Conversation with diversitythe executive said the firm hopes to “meet people where they are” when it comes to the cost of its launch.
This follows Microsoft June announcement that Obsidian's The Outer Worlds 2 will cost $80.. Due to negative reactions from users, the company reversed this decision in July and sci-fi RPG released for $69.99..
“Our entire focus is on meeting the needs of players and adding value to them. And we will always listen to what people want,” Booty said.
“We responded last year, and I think the real focus for us will be to – I'll go back to the phrase: meeting people where they are. I think there will be less emphasis on what the revenue of the game is as people start to engage with games in different ways. From our point of view, monetization is happening in very different ways now. So we're going to continue to listen to fan feedback. We're going to continue to balance that with the need to run a healthy business. But for now, as far as content, we do not have any pricing updates.”
Xbox wasn't the only one considering raising prices. Platform co-owner Nintendo claims that the launch price of Mario Kart World for Nintendo Switch 2 is $80. this is a “fair price”. Analyst Matthew Ball previously discussed GTA 6's $100 price tag..
Booty also discussed the recently released Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, saying it is “one of the most popular games” on Xbox at the moment. Earlier this week, Activision announced it was moving away from the annual release cycle. in the face of what appears to be poor critical and commercial reception of the latest game.
“I’m really proud of what the team has done in terms of innovation and moving the franchise forward,” Booty said.
“Releasing a major franchise like clockwork every year is a really big challenge, and I'm really proud of what the team has done to move the franchise forward in this way. And what's interesting about Call of Duty, I think as an IP, it's really well positioned to continue to deliver content for players in the future; the season system. And it's not just about launch, but it's kind of a unique category and ability in terms of how the team continues to deliver content throughout the year. So we're very happy with what we've accomplished.”
