Wishlist Zero Caliber 2 on Steam and Watch Its Price Drop — Devs Say It Could Fall from $29.99 to $14.99
Zero Caliber 2, a forthcoming VR shooter from self-funded studio XREAL Games, is running a wishlist-driven pricing plan on Steam that could cut its price from $29.99 to $14.99 if enough users add it to their wishlists.
How the wishlist pricing plan works
Right now, Zero Caliber 2 is listed at $29.99 on Steam. According to the studio, XREAL Games is running a “social experiment” where the game’s price will decrease as its number of Steam wishlists rises.
The studio has published four wishlist milestones with corresponding prices. As of this report the game sits at about 20,000 wishlists. The planned thresholds are:
- 30,000 wishlists → $26.99
- 40,000 wishlists → $24.99
- 50,000 wishlists → $19.99
- 100,000 wishlists → $14.99 (half of the starting price)
Why wishlists matter for visibility
XREAL Games says the campaign is meant to increase the game’s Steam visibility and reach more potential players. In general, being on more wishlists can lead to better placement in Steam discovery sections, which may generate more awareness and sales.
Valve, however, has previously stated that the number of wishlists does not directly influence most of Steam’s recommendation systems, with one exception: Steam’s Popular Upcoming section. Placement there can, in turn, affect New and Trending tabs and other discovery features.
Community reaction and concerns
The pricing push has drawn mixed responses on social platforms. On the Virtual Reality subreddit, some users say they are tired of repeated posts about the campaign, while others view the move as a marketing tactic or “a ploy” that implies the intended launch price was always lower.
Some community members have pointed to the trajectory of the first Zero Caliber as context. The original Zero Caliber launched at $24.99 and is currently on sale for $9.99 on Steam. Meanwhile, there are Steam forum posts arguing the previous game was unfinished.
Developer comments and context
XREAL Games describes itself as a self-funded indie team trying to support both VR development and its studio. On the game’s Steam news page the team wrote, “We’ve been giving it everything we’ve got to deliver the kind of VR shooter the PCVR community actually deserves – no lazy ports, no shortcuts.”
Responding to criticism on Reddit, one developer wrote, “We’re a small team, and can only focus on one thing at the same time,” while another added, “We’re genuinely trying to keep prices low despite raging inflation.” In a separate comment the developer said, “We’re still a self-funded team without a publisher juggling things to stay afloat so we can keep developing PCVR titles.” You can read those posts on Reddit here: the campaign discussion, one comment, and another comment.
Release timing and where to find the page
Zero Caliber 2 is planned to release sometime before the end of the year. For more details and to add the game to a wishlist, see the Steam store entry: Zero Caliber 2 on Steam. The studio’s announcement about the wishlist experiment is available on their Steam news post as well: the developer news post.
