I’m still pissed that The Outer Worlds 2 is digital only on Xbox

Charging $80 for a digital-only game that’s entire story is lampooning capitalism is an ironic twist of fate here, but somehow Xbox has managed to find a way with The Outer Worlds 2—and I’m still pissed off about it.

When the initial announcement that The Outer Worlds 2 would be digital only on Xbox systems found its way online a few weeks ago during the Xbox Games Showcase 2025, it ticked me off. And now that I’ve had time to sit back and watch the discourse unfold during weeks where we have seen massive Xbox layoffs, games canceled, and other unfortunate situations unfold. That feeling has not gone away.

This feeling was only boosted when I walked into my local video game store and saw a box for The Outer Worlds 2 Deluxe Edition for pre-order on Xbox. I got excited, but then I saw the text “Digital Game Code” slapped on the box like some kind of insult.

The audacity to charge $80 for a digital game alone is bad enough when the whole idea behind digital games was cutting costs from production to make games cheaper and easier to find as an alternative if people wish to go down that route, makes me more mad than I care to admit. With the keyword here being ‘alternative.’ Digital was always an option for big games like this, not the only option.

I know I’m probably one of the only individuals to care about this (and if I’m not, please keep me sane by saying something in the comments below), but I think this, among other decisions the Xbox team has made over the years, like closing Tango Gameworks after Hi-Fi Rush become a beloved title, make me feel like the people at the top of Xbox are out of touch with gamers and only care about forcing people into more Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, as it’s clear that this is where Xbox sees its future.

I know I’m waffling. If anything, I needed a space to write down my frustrations, but I really hope Xbox reserves this decision somehow and gives Xbox owners some form of physical media, at least in the future, for those who collect games and love games.

And it’s not like the game doesn’t have any form of physical media. Thankfully, you can buy physical copies of the game on the PS5, if not for the sake of those who love collecting physical media, but for the prospect of game preservation.