Hellblade 2 Senua's Saga's unfair pricing on PC seems like a desperate push for Game Pass

Hellblade 2 Senua's Saga is right around the corner and is essentially Xbox's biggest first-party flagship release of 2024. However, the lack of marketing behind the latest title from Ninja Theory as well as a strict embargo for media coverage and reviews has some Xbox fans quite worried. To top it off, the game's PC pricing also doesn't seem fair in several regions.

Built from the ground up exclusively for the current generation Xbox consoles, Hellblade 2 Senua's Saga is a visual powerhouse, one that leverages Unreal Engine 5's power to its fullest extent. While the game is considered one of Xbox's flagship titles, it isn't priced as one, at least in the US.

Although the game's price on Steam in the US seems quite fair, the pricing varies drastically in other regions. Gamers are speculating that Xbox may be charging more for their games on platforms like Steam to funnel players into their ecosystem, i.e., Game Pass.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the author's opinions.

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Hellblade 2 Senua's Saga can be a boon for Xbox Game Pass at the cost of being priced unfairly on other platforms

Hellblade 2 is priced at $49.99, which is a standard price for AA titles, not current-gen AAA offerings. Much like PlayStation, Xbox has also adopted the $70 AAA offering strategy. Some of Xbox's most recent titles like Starfield, Forza Motorsport, and even Redfall are all offered at $70, or above (if you go for the Premium or Deluxe Editions).

Additionally, similarly to other Xbox flagship titles, Hellblade 2 Senua's Saga is also releasing day and date on Xbox Game Pass for console and PC. As such, if you're a subscriber to Xbox's monthly service, there's virtually no point in paying for the game upfront.

While Game Pass is a boon in disguise for many PC and Xbox players, it also hurts the traditional sale of games, mostly AAA and AA productions that nowadays can cost upwards of $100 million, excluding marketing. This is precisely the reason why Xbox also chooses to sell the same games that it offers on Game Pass as a separate purchase.

Game Pass is a great option, and for smaller and independent developers, it's a useful alternative to get their game to a wider audience without having to worry too much about sales. However, when it comes to big AAA titles, it becomes a hindrance of sorts.

Fallout 4, for instance, sold incredibly well in the first week of its release, despite many fans being critical of several aspects of that game. Compared to that, Starfield sold nowhere nearly as well, despite being one of the most hyped and anticipated games since Cyberpunk 2077.

And while Starfield's overall sales figures were quite good, there's no denying that being a day-one Xbox Game Pass release hurt both the game's initial and long-term sales.

While you can grab Hellblade 2 Senua's Saga for its full asking price, given it's a short narrative-driven experience, it's better to get it on Game Pass since you can potentially finish the game in a couple of sittings, enjoy the story, and never touch it again. And hopefully, you won't cancel your subscription, granted you're enticed by the features it offers.

This might be Microsoft's strategy to maximize their profits for not only Game Pass but also their first-party offerings. Judging by the recent changes Microsoft made to Xbox's business side of things, there's a very high chance they are trying to recoup development costs by funneling players to Game Pass.

Then again, all this is nothing more than a theory and Hellbalde 2 Senua's Saga's asking price might just be a case of bad regional pricing, which isn't uncommon for Steam and other video game storefronts.