Obsidian announced a free upgrade to The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition for players who owned the base game before May 27 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. The company formally started the offer in late April, stating anyone who had the digital base game on these platforms could upgrade at no cost [1, 2].
The base version of The Outer Worlds was delisted starting May 27, leaving only the Spacer’s Choice Edition available for purchase on digital stores [1, 2]. However, players on legacy consoles Xbox One and PS4 found new conditions: they had to own both downloadable content (DLC) packs to access the free upgrade. This contradicted earlier public messages implying all base game owners qualified for the upgrade regardless of DLC ownership [1, 2].
Obsidian apologized for the confusion, explaining that technical and platform restrictions on Xbox One and PS4 necessitated this DLC ownership requirement for upgrade eligibility [1, 2]. Despite the apology, many players who purchased the base game near May 27 expecting a straightforward free upgrade on legacy consoles expressed frustration, calling the situation a bait-and-switch tactic [1].
The initial announcement in late April framed the upgrade as available to anyone who owned the base game digitally before May 27 on PC platforms like Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store, as well as PS5 and Xbox Series X/S--but it did not clarify the extra DLC requirement for earlier consoles [1, 2].
The conflicting statements led to player backlash as some Xbox One and PS4 users felt misled about the eligibility conditions. Obsidian’s apology acknowledged the mistake but cited backend entitlement issues beyond their immediate control [1, 2].
The base game removal and upgrade offer concluded on May 27. Obsidian’s clarifications and apology followed shortly after players reported the issues around that date [1, 2].
