Video games have been getting more expensive in recent years, both at a base price and for the more expensive versions of games. Not only has the base price of games risen to $70, but some games like Mario Kart World and The Outer Worlds 2 cost $80, and some games don’t even actually come on the disc, if there is even a disc to buy. One aspect of this has been the increase in $100 “premium” editions of games. While the name might make this sound like the expensive collector’s editions that have existed in the past, these are quite different, and those differences make it clear that these versions only exist to increase the average sale price of the game.
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What are modern “premium” editions?
Digital goodies and early access, at a price
To nail down the kind of “premium” edition I’m accusing of ruining games, we need to establish the difference between those and actual collector’s editions. Doom: The Dark Ages had both, so it’s a clear example of the differences. The collector’s edition is a $200 version that comes with a physical statue and steelbook, while also including the digital goodies from the premium edition. The premium edition of Doom: The Dark Ages comes in both physical and digital versions, but the only difference is the disc. Instead, the extra $30 gets you a digital soundtrack and art book, along with skins and, the biggest issue here, two days of early access. The difference here is that all you are getting for that extra money are digital items, but here’s the problem.
The early access adds nothing but creates FOMO
Game companies want you to feel like you are missing out
Continuing with the Doom: The Dark Ages example, although if you open up a game store, you can see this being true for a number of games, like the recently released Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4. To start, the digital goodies, like the soundtrack and art book, are cool on paper, but the format you get them on console is used in a separate game you launch by itself, which makes it inconvenient to use. I might listen to the Doom: The Dark Ages soundtrack, but it’s not going to be via an app on my Xbox or PlayStation. The skins have become commonplace as well for these editions, gatekeeping content that would have been unlockable in the past for a premium price. The most egregious part is early access, which is the most blatant price-gouging of the bunch. These are advertised as early access, implying a special release, but in reality, it’s just a company releasing a game a few days earlier. However, you can get a discount if you wait three days. Since all you are getting is the game early, you are really just spending money to have it available to you slightly earlier than everyone else. When those three days pass, all of a sudden, the $100 premium version, which won’t go down in price, is worth less.
Bundling DLC into a launch edition of the game is also scummy
Please stop selling me stuff that hasn’t been revealed yet
Not every $100 “premium” edition comes with early access, but instead we have found a new way to sell season passes. When season passes were originally introduced, there was an outcry from gamers over paying for DLC that wasn’t out yet. Some companies attempt to bypass this by only selling DLC via season passes, but a new way to sneak these into people’s carts has come from the premium editions. For example, the $130 digital version of Borderlands 4 comes with a bunch of skins and cosmetics only available in the more expensive versions, but the $130 Super Deluxe also includes the Vault Hunter Pack. That pack includes two post-launch DLCs, promising two new characters and story areas. That seems all well and good, but you’re paying for a DLC that you don’t even know what it’s going to be, for a game you haven’t even played yet. There’s also no way to know how much of the post-launch DLC. That price might feel good to get all the DLC, but what if that’s only two of six? All of a sudden, it no longer feels like a good bargain.
Borderlands 4
- Released
- September 12, 2025
Not every company is doing it, and you don’t have to buy these
Unfortunately, I have to give some credit to Nintendo
While there are plenty of game companies who have jumped all over this trend, with Xbox being one of the main culprits, there are some who haven’t. While Nintendo might be responsible for some games costing $80, Nintendo almost never makes special editions of any kind, nor does it offer paid early access to its games. While some people might wish that Nintendo would at least make real collector’s editions for its beloved games, I’ll take the trade-off of not feeling pressured to pay an extra $30 to play Donkey Kong Bananza two days early.
The other side to this is that, yes, you do not have to buy these. You might feel left out if you see people posting about a game during the early access period, but if you can hold out, it won’t really matter. On top of that, not only do you not have to buy games when they first release, you can typically save a decent amount of money by waiting a few months for a solid sale. Granted, if that’s how you buy games, you’ve likely never felt tempted to pay for three-day early access.
Mario Kart World
Systems
It’s designed to make you pay more without getting more, and that sucks
Unless you are truly pressed for time, there really isn’t anything to gain from early access
Ultimately, what makes these “premium” editions that only contain digital bonuses for the extra price tag is how small the value is for the increase in cost. This is especially true for early access, and there are plenty of games still coming this year that have these editions, like The Outer Worlds 2 and Madden 26. While all of these games advertise “early access,” it’s important to recognize that that’s not really true. Instead, the actual launch day is whenever early access starts, and the release date of the normal version is being delayed in order to get more money out of you. While I don’t expect this practice to go away anytime soon, I hope that people not purchasing these might cause these premium editions to be less common.
The Outer Worlds 2
- Released
- October 29, 2025
