pricing strategy Archives

AppWizard

June 17, 2025

Stellar Blade sold a million units in 3 days on PC and you can mostly thank Chinese players

Stellar Blade has sold over 1 million copies on PC within its first three days and reached the 81st position in Steam's top 100 all-time most-played games with a peak of 192,078 concurrent players. The game's success is largely attributed to its reception in China, where a Chinese dub and regional pricing have boosted sales. The PC version is priced lower than the console version. Reviewer Mollie Taylor rated the game 68%, noting it as a well-optimized PC port but criticized its story and tutorial level. Despite the critiques, she described it as a "decently solid soulslite."

AppWizard

June 16, 2025

Borderlands 4 is NOT an $80 game, PC requirements revealed

2K Games has opened pre-orders for Borderlands 4, with the standard edition priced at .99. The game will utilize Unreal Engine 5, requiring a minimum of an Intel Core i7-9700 or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, 16GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, along with 100GB of free disk space. Recommended specifications include an Intel Core i7-12700 or AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, 32GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, also requiring 100GB of free disk space. The game will feature Denuvo anti-tamper technology, similar to Borderlands 3, which may be removed in the future.

AppWizard

June 14, 2025

The Outer Worlds 2 director offers the most sympathetic answer I’ve yet heard for the $80 game question: ‘We don’t set the prices for our games,’ and ‘You’d have to honestly talk to the Xbox folks’

Brandon Adler, the director of The Outer Worlds 2, stated that game developers do not set the prices for their games, emphasizing that pricing decisions are made by corporate executives. He expressed a desire for broader accessibility to games but indicated that pricing inquiries should be directed to Xbox executives. The economic landscape has shifted, making home ownership difficult while consumer electronics have become more affordable. Gamers now have various options, including subscription services and budget-friendly hardware. The perceived normal price for games has shifted to the range of to , with being a stretch, particularly for highly anticipated titles. Pricing challenges reflect deeper issues in the gaming industry, including recent layoffs and rising development costs. Obsidian Entertainment has adopted a strategy of working on multiple smaller projects, resulting in more affordable pricing for some titles, while the upcoming Avowed is set at a full retail price. Concerns exist that The Outer Worlds 2’s price might hinder its success, especially given the unclear metrics Microsoft uses to evaluate sales performance.

AppWizard

June 14, 2025

Sony quietly removes PC sale restrictions in dozens of countries for four huge PlayStation games

Sony has eased regional restrictions on several popular PC games, including God of War Ragnarök, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Helldivers 2, as of June 13. The changes were noted on SteamDB, showing a reduction in the number of countries where these games are unavailable, with only the Russian Federation added to the list of restricted sales. This decision follows a backlash from a previous incident involving Helldivers 2, which was removed from sale in 177 countries due to a PSN requirement. Additionally, Sony's president, Hideaki Nishino, mentioned that the company is considering adjustments to the pricing of its PlayStation Plus service to maximize profitability through a dynamic pricing strategy.

AppWizard

June 9, 2025

The Outer Worlds 2 is Microsoft’s first $80 game

The Outer Worlds 2 is set to be released on October 29th, 2025, and will introduce a new price point as the first title from Microsoft to implement this pricing strategy following a global price hike announced in May 2025. Microsoft acknowledged the challenges of this decision, citing current market conditions and rising game development costs. The original game was published by Take-Two's Private Division in 2019, and Obsidian, the studio behind it, was acquired by Microsoft during its development.

AppWizard

June 7, 2025

Sonic’s Takashi Iizuka dunks on Mario Kart World as Sonic Racing Crossworlds unveils Hatsune Miku, Persona 5, and Minecraft Steve

Sega has released a trailer for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds during the Summer Game Fest 2025, featuring guest characters like Hatsune Miku, Joker from Persona 5, Ichiban Kasuga from Yakuza, and Steve and Alex from Minecraft. The game will have a higher price for PC and current-gen console versions, but a paid upgrade path will be available for Nintendo Switch owners. The Steam page confirms that Minecraft characters will be included in the Season Pass, with each DLC pack introducing two new characters and one special pack featuring four characters. A Sonic Prime pack will launch with variants of Knuckles, Tails, and Amy. The Digital Deluxe version will be priced at a premium for dedicated fans. Sega has not confirmed characters from SpongeBob SquarePants or other Nickelodeon franchises, although rumors suggest they may be included in future DLC.

AppWizard

May 23, 2025

Games Inbox: Are video games too expensive on console and PC?

Bethesda's latest game, Doom: The Dark Ages, is priced at £70 for both PC and console and can be completed in about 13 hours. This pricing strategy has raised concerns among gamers, especially since PC games typically have lower price points. Some gamers believe this may be an attempt by Microsoft to promote its subscription service, Game Pass, while others plan to wait for sales. Additionally, there are concerns about Bungie's management following its acquisition by Sony, with critics questioning the effectiveness of such corporate acquisitions in revitalizing franchises. In contrast, Nintendo is innovating with its upcoming Mario Kart World for the Switch 2, moving the series to an open-world format, which has generated excitement among fans. The gaming community remains engaged in discussions about pricing, management, and innovation as the industry evolves.

AppWizard

May 18, 2025

After raising over $800 million from its community, Star Citizen’s developer delays the release of a new ship upgrade as players baulk at having to pay for it

Cloud Imperium Games has raised over 0 million for Star Citizen through various funding methods over thirteen years. Recently, a new ship upgrade caused significant backlash from the community, with nearly 2,000 forum responses expressing discontent. Players criticized the introduction of purchasable flight blades, with some feeling disillusioned about investing further in the game. Despite the criticism, some players remain excited about the Greycat MTC, a planetary exploration vehicle priced at . In response to the uproar, Cloud Imperium Games announced that flight blades would be available for in-game currency in the upcoming June patch and acknowledged the need for better alignment between store items and in-game availability. The development of Star Citizen and its single-player counterpart, Squadron 42, continues, with Chris Roberts suggesting Squadron 42 may launch in 2026.

AppWizard

May 6, 2025

Rockstar just revealed more about GTA 6—but left PC gamers hanging

Grand Theft Auto 6 is now scheduled for release on May 26, 2026, after being delayed from its original 2025 launch. A new trailer was released, garnering over 1.5 million likes within two hours, and the dedicated game page briefly crashed due to high traffic. The trailer introduces characters Jason and Lucia, who become involved in criminal activities after Lucia is released from prison. The game is set in Leonida, a parody of Florida, featuring locations such as Leonida Keys, Grassivers, Port Gellhorn, Mount Kalaga, and Ambrosia. Currently, GTA 6 will launch exclusively on PS5 and Xbox Series consoles, with no confirmed PC release date. Speculation suggests a potential two-year wait for PC gamers, similar to the release pattern of GTA 5. Pricing details for the game remain unconfirmed, but it is expected to be higher than traditional new title prices due to its estimated budget nearing a billion dollars.

AppWizard

May 2, 2025

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is selling more than twice as fast as other JRPGs on PC, analyst says

Sandfall Interactive's game, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, has sold one million copies within three days of its release and surpassed 785,000 copies sold on Steam in its first week. It has also sold over 350,000 copies on PlayStation. The game has more than 1.5 million wishlists on Steam. Its success is attributed to quality visuals, a rewarding turn-based combat system, a compelling narrative, and a strategic pricing decision. The game is available on Xbox Game Pass, which has positively impacted its sales through increased visibility and word-of-mouth promotion. Expedition 33 has outperformed recent titles in the Japanese RPG genre, including Atlus's Metaphor Re:Fantazio, and has even surpassed Oblivion on Steam's global sales charts.