The Talos Principle 2 price increase is now live on Steam. Croteam has raised the base price from $29.99 to $39.99, a 33% jump for a puzzle game that launched on November 2, 2023, almost three years ago.
Regional prices went up as well. The game now sells for €39.99 in Europe, £35.99 in the UK and $47.99 CAD in Canada, according to the new prices on the official Steam store page.
Why Croteam raised The Talos Principle 2 price
The studio explained the change in a statement on Steam. Croteam says the cost of making and supporting games has risen sharply in recent years, with inflation pushing costs up around the world. It also said the decision was not made lightly and admitted that nobody enjoys seeing a price go up.
Croteam wanted to explain the reasoning up front instead of quietly changing the number. The key line for current players: if you already own The Talos Principle 2, nothing changes for you.
The price increase is Steam only, for now
So far The Talos Principle 2 price increase only applies on Steam. On PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, the game is still listed at $29.99. Croteam has not said whether console prices will follow, so anyone on those platforms who has been meaning to buy it may want to do it sooner rather than later.
The change also affects future discounts. The game dropped to $2.99 during a 90% off sale earlier this month. The same discount at the new base price would land at $3.99, so even sale shoppers will feel it a little.
The timing is interesting
For anyone new to the series, The Talos Principle 2 is a first-person puzzle game set in a world where humanity is gone and robots have carried on its civilization. You solve laser and connector puzzles while exploring a mysterious megastructure and debating big questions about what it means to be human.
The new price arrives shortly after Croteam released a free Puzzle Editor with Steam Workshop support on October 1, which lets players build and share their own puzzles. It also brings the sequel in line with The Talos Principle: Reawakened, which already sells for $39.99.
The bigger news is still ahead. The Talos Principle 3 is in development with a 2027 target, and a gameplay reveal trailer dropped on October 8. No price has been announced for it yet, but $39.99 now looks like the floor for the series.
How players are reacting
Reactions are mixed. On the Steam forums, some players argue the game is easily worth $40, pointing to its size, its 94% positive user rating and the new free editor. Others question raising the price of a game that is nearly three years old and regularly goes on sale.
Reddit is less forgiving. Plenty of users on r/pcgaming doubt that rising costs justify charging more for a digital product that already exists. Some suspect the real goal is to make sale prices earn more, although Croteam has not said anything like that.
It is not the first time a studio has done this. Factorio raised its price in 2023 for the same reason, and with Talos 3 on the way, it probably will not be the last. You can follow how many people are still playing on the Talos Principle 2 Steam charts and player count page.
Our take
The Talos Principle 2 is one of the best puzzle games of the decade, and $40 is not an unreasonable price for it. Raising the price of a three year old game is still a tough sell, especially when it only happens on Steam. If you have been waiting to pick it up, the console versions are still at the old price, and the next Steam sale will show how much this change really matters.
