God of War Laufey Collector's Edition Does Not Include the Game, This Time by Design

After the Ragnarok special edition was accidentally shipped without download codes, Sony appears to have taken inspiration.

After Ragnarok Special Edition accidentally shipped without download codes, Sony seems inspired

God of War Laufey no disc no sale PS5 Sony

I will not allow this to become normal. No matter how many times this happens, it's completely messed up and we have to move on. Laufey's God of War Collector's Box has been revealed (thanks to PushSquare), which includes a light-up statue, a 51-card deck, an art book, and... no copy of the game. It looks like it'll cost around $130 (the US version hasn't been announced yet, but the UK version is £130), but if you want to play the game that comes with the box, you'll still need to shell out another $70.

Laufey's Caja de Coleccionista de God of War appeared to first appear on the Spanish PlayStation Store before other countries began to reveal it, with the US still to finish. This box contains a resin statue of a fey fighting enemies with her long, pointy sword, with a purple stripe, and bright blue cubes for maximum beauty. There is also a deck of oracle cards, 51 in total, each with a unique image based on Faye's journey, and apparently capable of Everywhen magic. And last but not least, the "small art book" is a must, because you can't expect a full size book for more than $100. And that's it. It's a very expensive statue, card deck, and booklet, and it's only more ridiculous when you consider that you didn't actually buy a copy of the game in the process.

Of course, Laufey's God of War deal looks pretty reasonable compared to Rockstar's unveiling of a $400 GTA 6 collector's edition that doesn't come with the game. But considering the difference between a piece of paper and the code printed on it, this practice remains completely ridiculous. Given that boxed items can't cost much more to produce than around $60 in a single push, it's too bad it's not included by default, even leaving aside its inherent weirdness. And unlike GTA 6, Laufey is getting a physical release.

Making it even weirder is the disaster that happened when God of War was last released. Ragnarok 2023 had two different (much better) special editions, the Collector's and Jötnar Editions, both of which were supposed to have a download code for the full game and - inexplicably - a steel screen that didn't contain a disc. This situation worsened when people realized that the download code was not included. It was at least an error that Sony tried to fix, but three years later the omission is now entirely intentional.

As for why this happens, one possible reason is to save money. If you're selling the game on multiple consoles, you'll need to produce multiple copies of the collector's edition, and that means different SKUs, different box designs, etc. Except, Laufey is a PS5 exclusive, so it doesn't apply at all. It seems like it's just an exercise in finding something to get rid of with money. I guess at least the box doesn't contain a disc tray that you don't put a disc in at this time.

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