How much does Wild West Pioneers cost?

$19.99 for the Early Access release, before a launch discount that wishlists pushed to its top tier of 25%. The number came from a Toplitz community manager on the Steam forum, in reply to a player asking what to budget:

“Pioneers will be $19.99 for the Early Access release… There will be a launch discount, the % amount will be determined by the final amount of wishlists”

(Posted by Toplitz in Steam discussions: publisher reply on price and editions)

How big is the launch discount?

The discount was tied to how many people wishlisted the game before launch. Each milestone unlocked a bigger cut: (Set out in Steam announcement: Wishlist & Unlock the Rewards)

The last tier was reached. In the announcement’s words, “200,000 pioneers are riding to Early Access with a 25% launch discount.” (Announced in Steam announcement: 200,000 Pioneers at the Gates)

So what do you actually pay?

With the launch discount, $14.99 on Steam in the US, down from $19.99. The same 25% cut makes it €14.99 (from €19.99) in the eurozone and £13.49 (from £17.99) in the UK. (Prices as listed on the Steam store page) The store labels it an introductory offer that runs for the first two weeks of Early Access, so if the price matters to you, buy while the store page still shows the cut. Which store to use is covered on the Steam, GOG or Epic page.

Why did Steam show no price before launch?

Because nothing was on sale yet. Until Early Access opened, the Steam page had a wishlist button and no price at all, which is why the forum reply above was the only number to go on. (Shown on the Steam store page) Now that sales are open, the store page is the final word: it shows the discounted price next to the regular one. The exact unlock hour for your time zone is on the release time page.

Will it cost more after Early Access?

Yes, that is the stated plan. The Early Access section of the store page says: “we are offering the game at a lower price compared to the full release.” (Said on the Steam store page) The full-release price has not been given. Early Access is expected to last about a year, and the three planned content updates are on the Early Access and roadmap page.

Standard, Companion or Ultimate: what is the difference?

One naming quirk: on the Steam store page the heading above this graphic reads “Special Edition”, while the graphic itself says “Digital Editions”. Both refer to the same three tiers. (Shown on the Steam store page)

The extras sit outside the game. When a player asked whether the bigger editions play differently, Toplitz answered on the forum:

“Just to be clear, the other versions include out of game extras (guide, cook book, soundtrack), there is no difference with the game in the other versions.”

(Posted by Toplitz in Steam discussions: publisher reply on price and editions)

On Steam the tiers are not sold as separate packages. The purchase box offers the base game, and the three extras are separate add-ons you can buy on top of it; the Companion and Ultimate editions are the base game plus those add-ons. (Listed on the Steam store page)

So the Companion edition comes to $22.48 and the Ultimate edition to $29.96 at launch prices in the US, if you buy the base game and the matching add-ons together. None of the extras changes the game. If you only want to play, the base game is the whole game.

Where do you get a Wild West Pioneers key?

The publisher named three stores, Steam, GOG and the Epic Games Store, though when Steam opened only Steam was selling it. (Listed in Toplitz Productions' open playtest news post) Buying from one of them puts the game in that store’s library. Third-party key sites are a separate market with separate risks, such as a key locked to another region or one that stops working later, and any problem there is between you and the seller rather than the store. There is no free or trial version to fall back on either: the demo has been taken down.

Related: the exact unlock time, whether your PC can run it and which languages it supports.