One More Level has set the Valor Mortis price at $39.99, confirmed a 20-hour story, and revealed a Deluxe Edition with major story DLC planned for 2027.

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Store links: Valor Mortis on Steam
Valor Mortis chooses a lower price in a brutal October window
Valor Mortis will launch on October 13, 2026, at $39.99 for the Standard Edition, a concrete price cut against the current full-price console field and a pointed response to an autumn calendar packed with larger-name releases. Developer One More Level announced the pricing in a public statement shared through the game’s official channels, saying it believes Valor Mortis has the “quality, fidelity, and playtime” to stand alongside many full-price titles, while acknowledging that players are being asked to spend carefully during a crowded season.
That is the central tension around Valor Mortis right now. This is a new first-person Soulslike from the Ghostrunner studio, it is arriving as a fresh IP, and it is trying to cut through a release month that Eurogamer notes also includes Gears of War: E-Day, Ace Combat 8, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, Final Fantasy Resonance, and Phantom Blade Zero. Eurogamer also places it close to September heavyweights such as Marvel’s Wolverine, Silent Hill: Townfall, and Control Resonant, the latter being cited in that report as the game that contributed to Valor Mortis moving out of its original September 24 date.
For action fans, the Valor Mortis 40 dollars headline is not simply a discount talking point. It is the studio positioning the game as something players can fit into a crowded slate rather than a premium purchase that demands the whole month. The price makes the proposition easier to entertain, but it also puts sharper focus on what is confirmed, what is still vague, and whether the Deluxe Edition is worth considering before the first story DLC has been shown in detail.
The $39.99 price is being framed as confidence, not a warning sign
One More Level’s statement says the Standard Edition will cost $39.99, €39.99, and 149.99 zł. Push Square reports the PS5 base price as $39.99, while Eurogamer reports the game at $40 and €40 and says it has asked for clarification on the UK price. At the time covered by the provided reporting, no confirmed UK price is available in the source material.
The studio’s messaging is unusually direct about the business calculation. According to Eurogamer, Blake Rochkind, head of Valor Mortis publisher Lyrical Games, told The Game Business that his biggest concern was the lower price sending “the wrong message” about the game. Rochkind framed the decision as one made from confidence, arguing that Valor Mortis is one of the few new IPs launching in one of the busiest release seasons the industry has seen and that the publisher wanted players to be able to pick it up alongside other major games.
That matters for how buyers should read the price. The developer is not saying Valor Mortis is a shorter experimental release, at least not in the quoted announcement. It is saying the opposite: that the game has a 20-hour story and the production values to compete with higher-priced games, while the market around it forced a more aggressive entry point. Push Square similarly reports that One More Level believes it has made a first-person Soulslike with the quality and play time of a full-priced PS5 release, but has chosen $39.99 anyway.
There is also a practical restraint here that deserves credit. One More Level says Valor Mortis will not be available to pre-order. Instead, the developer wants “the completed version” to do the talking and says players will be able to buy it when they have a fuller picture of the game at launch. Beebom reports that the prices and editions were announced through the official X account and that pricing data had not yet been posted on digital storefronts at the time of its story. DualShockers, meanwhile, says the announcement appeared on the game’s Steam page. Those reports point to a small sourcing wrinkle around where the announcement was visible, but they align on the actual pricing, editions, no-preorder stance, and 20-hour story claim.
Valor Mortis playtime is pegged at a 20-hour story
The most useful number in One More Level’s announcement may be the Valor Mortis playtime estimate. The developer says the game has a 20-hour story, according to Eurogamer, DualShockers, Game Rant, Beebom, and DayOne’s reproduction of the statement. That figure gives the $39.99 price a clearer shape: players are being sold a focused action RPG-length campaign rather than an open-ended service game, at least based on what has been confirmed so far.
A 20-hour story also fits the studio’s background in games built around timing, pressure, and combat rhythm. One More Level is best known for Ghostrunner, and Valor Mortis carries that first-person action lineage into a different structure. Push Square describes the game as a first-person Soulslike set during the era of Napoleon. The same report summarizes the premise: players control William, a soldier of the Grande Armée brought back from a battlefield grave into a Europe changed by a mysterious plague, with corrupting power now running through him.
That setup suggests a different tempo from Ghostrunner’s blade-run sprinting. A Soulslike framework usually asks the player to read enemies, manage risk, and learn encounters through repetition. A first-person perspective raises the stakes for spacing and threat recognition because the player cannot see their body in the same way they can in a third-person Soulslike. The source material does not confirm detailed combat systems, performance modes, boss count, mission structure, or difficulty options, so those remain open questions until launch coverage or final storefront details fill them in.
The 20-hour claim should be read as a story estimate, not a completionist promise. The provided reports do not specify how long optional content, alternate builds, New Game Plus-style features, or post-launch updates might add. If you measure value by a single campaign run, the announced price and playtime look clean. If you are looking for the kind of action game you can grind for months, the free update plan and 2027 DLC are relevant, but still too undefined to carry that expectation on their own.
The Deluxe Edition asks for $20 more before the DLC has a shape
Valor Mortis DLC is now confirmed, but only in broad terms. One More Level announced a Deluxe Edition priced at $59.99, €59.99, and 199.99 zł, according to DayOne’s quoted statement. Push Square and Eurogamer both report the Deluxe Edition at $59.99, with a major story DLC planned for 2027. DayOne adds the most specific breakdown in the provided material, saying the Deluxe Edition includes the base game, a La Grande Armée Weapon Skin Pack, three additional unrevealed weapon skin packs, and the major story DLC.
That makes the Deluxe Edition a simple but still risky calculation. The extra $20 appears to buy future story content and cosmetics, but the sources do not confirm the DLC’s title, length, setting, standalone price, release window beyond 2027, or whether it will expand the main campaign after the ending or tell a side story. One More Level says the world of Valor Mortis has more stories to tell, which confirms narrative intent, but not scale.
For players already sold on the premise, $59.99 still comes in below the $70 price point Push Square uses as the comparison for many PS5 releases. For everyone else, the no-preorder policy cuts both ways. The studio is not asking for money before launch, but the Deluxe Edition is still partly a bet on unshown 2027 content. If your interest is primarily the base campaign, the Standard Edition is the cleaner purchase. If you already know you want the first story expansion and you like weapon cosmetics, the Deluxe Edition is positioned as the all-in option.
The free update plan sits alongside the paid expansion. The developer says multiple free updates are planned for the weeks and months after launch and will add more ways to enjoy Valor Mortis. The source material does not specify whether those updates include modes, balance changes, challenge content, accessibility additions, or quality-of-life improvements. Until One More Level gives those updates names and dates, they should be treated as a post-launch commitment rather than a known content roadmap.
PS5 players pay upfront while Xbox and PC get a Game Pass route
Valor Mortis is confirmed for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S. Push Square focuses on the Valor Mortis PS5 release and lists the October 13 date, while Eurogamer states the game is in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Eurogamer and DayOne also report that Valor Mortis will be available day one on Game Pass for PC and Xbox.
That creates a platform split around the value question. On PS5, the confirmed path in the provided reporting is a direct purchase at $39.99 for the Standard Edition or $59.99 for the Deluxe Edition. On Xbox and PC, Game Pass subscribers will have a lower-friction way to sample the base game at launch, though the provided sources do not state how the Deluxe Edition, cosmetic packs, or 2027 story DLC will be handled for Game Pass users.
For PS5 owners, the lack of pre-orders may actually be useful. There is no pre-launch discount or bonus mentioned in the source material that players risk missing by waiting. One More Level’s own message asks players to judge the completed game at launch, so waiting for reviews, performance reports, and footage from the final build aligns with the developer’s stated approach.
For PC buyers, the reporting supplied here does not include system requirements, Steam Deck verification, graphics settings, or performance targets. For console buyers, it does not confirm resolution modes, frame-rate targets, DualSense features, or Xbox performance options. Those omissions are important for a first-person action game. Precision combat lives or dies on readability and responsiveness, and Valor Mortis will need to prove those elements in the final version, especially if it wants to persuade players already committed to larger autumn releases.
A new IP is trying to buy room in a month full of giants
The pricing announcement reads like a studio and publisher staring at the release calendar with clear eyes. Valor Mortis is a new IP, according to Rochkind’s comments reported by Eurogamer, and new IP has a harder job in a season dominated by sequels, franchise revivals, and recognizable brands. A $39.99 price lowers the first barrier. A 20-hour story gives players a defined commitment. No pre-orders let the studio avoid asking for blind faith.
That strategy also puts pressure on the launch build. If the game arrives polished, the price becomes an advantage: a Napoleonic first-person Soulslike from the Ghostrunner team that can be bought between bigger releases without demanding a $70 decision. If the game launches rough, the no-preorder message will be tested immediately because One More Level has explicitly invited players to judge the finished product.
The autumn competition also affects timing. Valor Mortis was already delayed from September to October, with Eurogamer linking the move to Control Resonant’s place in the September schedule. October is hardly quieter. The game now arrives in a month crowded with major action, racing, RPG, and shooter releases. In that environment, a lower price is less a giveaway than a tactical move to keep the game from being drowned out.
For action fans deciding where to spend, the current guidance is straightforward. Valor Mortis has a confirmed $39.99 Standard Edition, a developer-stated 20-hour story, a $59.99 Deluxe Edition with major story DLC planned for 2027, no pre-orders, and an October 13, 2026 launch on PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S. Game Pass gives PC and Xbox players another route into the base game. PS5 players should have no reason, based on the provided sources, to buy before launch-day impressions exist because the developer itself is asking the completed game to make the case.
