Star Wars Outlaws got a confirmed launch date and two special edition options on April 9, among them an eye-watering $129.99 “Ultimate Edition” that is drawing pushback from suspicious gamers.
Though not a record for special editions of AAA video games by any stretch, it is a bit stiff for one that has no physical premiums. The Ultimate Edition is a bundle of all-digital tchotchkes and VIP treatment, one of which is three days of early access, which means it must be pre-ordered, too.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, also developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft, had a $129.99, digital-only Ultimate Edition when that launched in December. If this is becoming a trend, some are unhappy with it, and what it means.
“On the one hand, we don’t need the special edition. On the other hand, it’s still a pretty weak special edition for that price,” said Redditor GuyFromYarnham in r/saltierthankrayt, the subreddit for Star Wars fandom.
“Massive being the lead on this game is keeping me hopeful, given their work on the Division,” added ShoArts. “It’s Ubisoft pulling stuff like this that’s making me wait til long after release.”
Others echoed the buy-later advice. “The secret ingredient to buying Ubisoft games is wait for the inevitable sale a month after it drops,” said Razgriz_101, in an r/gaming thread headlined, “Can we please not normalize 130$ dollars for deluxe edition of games.”
What’s in the Star Wars Outlaws Ultimate Edition?
Star Wars Outlaws’ Ultimate Edition includes the base game (of course); a Season Pass, which means post-release story expansions are on the table; three days of early access to the game (if pre-ordered); the “Sabacc Shark bundle” of skins, and the “Rogue Infiltrator bundle. There’s also a digital art book, which few gamers today seem to get excited about.
We haven’t seen images of what the skins are. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor had different skins, but in order to be narratively consistent, they were homages to fan favorite characters, rather than the characters themselves.
The Gold Edition at $109.99 lacks the art book and character skins. The $69.99 standard edition is just the game. Pre-order it, and get in three days early. The price difference between the Gold Edition and standard edition means the Season Pass will probably cost $40 if bought separately after launch.
For those who aren’t sure about the game, there’s another way in: subscribe to Ubisoft Plus, one of the pricier publisher-only subscription services at $17.99 per month. That gets gamers everything in the Star Wars Outlaws Ultimate Edition (although it’s a good bet the Season Pass content won’t make it into the game for some months). If it doesn’t float their boat, quit the subscription.
Featured image via Ubisoft
