Valor Mortis Priced at $40 Due to 'The Craziest Fall in the History of This Business'

Upcoming first-person action soulslike Valor Mortis will launch at $40, a price set by its publisher in response to the crowded fall season, largely driven by GTA 6.

"We've had numerous discussions over the past year about the price of Valor Mortis," publisher Lyrical Games said in a statement. "We believe the game has the quality, fidelity, and playtime in its 20-hour story to go toe-to-toe with many 'full-price' titles. However, this Fall is packed and there's high demand for your time and money."

Valor Mortis was already delayed from September 24 to October 13 to avoid competition from Remedy's Control Resonant and Konami's Silent Hill: Townfall, but it also faces the looming launch of GTA 6 a month later. The hope is that by offering a lower price than some competitors, it will stand out further, though this carries the risk that some may perceive it as lower quality.

In an interview with The Game Business, Lyrical Games boss Blake Rochkind elaborated on the decision, admitting the price was something "we've really agonized over."

"My biggest concern was that it would send the wrong message about the game. But this decision is made out of confidence," he said.

"We find ourselves as one of the only new IPs launching in what is objectively the craziest fall in the history of this business. Not only do you have GTA looming large in November, now you have the Zelda remake, Control coming out in a couple of weeks, Silent Hill: Townfall, Phantom Blade Zero, Gears of War, Call of Duty... By virtue of the development schedule, the cards we've been dealt is that we are one of the only new IPs launching this fall.

"We are pretty confident in Valor Mortis. But ultimately, the worst thing we could do is not push our chips in and say, 'We want this to be a game that you can pick up alongside these other great games.'"

This latter point is that Valor Mortis could be a game people buy in addition to another, perhaps more expensive game, and a $40 price point makes that decision easier. Perhaps someone plans to buy GTA 6, which at its cheapest costs $80, but wouldn't mind snapping up Valor Mortis at half the price to play in the weeks beforehand.

Or maybe they will play Control Resonant and also Valor Mortis, or any other combination. "Going with this price point will help us be an 'and' game," Rochkind said.

It's worth noting that Valor Mortis is a day one Xbox Game Pass release, although Rochkind insisted this had nothing to do with the pricing decision.

From the creators of Ghostrunner, Valor Mortis is a first-person soulslike where you rise from death as a former soldier of Napoleon's army, only to die over and over again battling shambling corpses and wild monsters. You can get a rundown on Valor Mortis in our recent preview.