The Outer Worlds 2 Budget Tops $100 Million, Sparking Debate

According to Twisted Voxel, South of Midnight from Compulsion Games and The Outer Worlds 2 from Obsidian Entertainment each carry total development and marketing budgets of more than $100 million, based on a LinkedIn post by entertainment lawyer Simon Pulman. Pulman also estimated sales at roughly 500,000 copies for South of Midnight and about 1 million for The Outer Worlds 2. The figures revive a familiar question: whether blockbuster-scale spending still makes business sense.

The budget alone is not the most revealing number here. What matters is whether that spending shows up in the experience players actually get. For RPG players, a nine-figure budget means very little on its own. What counts is whether the world design, characters, combat feel, and overall sense of momentum can sustain dozens of hours.

Pulman’s comparison is straightforward. He says South of Midnight is tracking at around 500,000 copies, while The Outer Worlds 2 is at around 1 million. Put those figures next to budgets of more than $100 million per game, and the mismatch is hard to miss. He also pointed to Stellar Blade, developed by Shift Up, which had a budget of about $50 million and has sold 6 million copies, as well as Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, whose development and marketing costs were about $40 million and whose sales have reached 5 million. Side by side, the gap is stark.

That said, raw sales and budget data do not tell you which game is better. The Outer Worlds 2 remains the higher-profile Xbox first-party release of the two, and Obsidian Entertainment still carries weight with RPG players. Players will judge it on its quest design, dialogue systems, and worldbuilding. But Pulman places much of the blame on Xbox management, arguing that the company failed to properly supervise development at some studios. He describes the situation as a “massive management failure” and suggests some teams lack enough accountability. That moves the discussion beyond budget totals and toward oversight, management discipline, and whether teams are being held accountable at modern AAA scale.

From an industry standpoint, Pulman’s broader forecast is the bigger point. He argues that as development costs keep rising while consumer demand does not grow at the same rate, the economics of game development are becoming harder to justify. He expects further consolidation among major North American publishers, continued layoffs, wider adoption of AI tools, heavier reliance on outsourced development, and product strategies shaped more directly by consumer demand. In the same post, he says Asian developers will continue gaining market share because their production costs are lower and their games are more closely aligned with player demand.

For players, this is less a buying signal than a warning sign. Anyone who likes darkly comic sci-fi RPGs and already trusts Obsidian Entertainment will still be watching The Outer Worlds 2. But for players who care more about content density, systemic polish, and long-term replay value, launch reception, campaign length, and side-quest quality will matter far more than the phrase “over $100 million.” In the end, the market does not pay for cost alone. Players stay for games that justify the time.