Just when you thought that the monetization of video games was reaching ridiculous levels, Bethesda has pushed the boundaries of good taste again. The same company that is locking a whole race behind a paywall in the $60 plus $15 per month with a cash store MMO, The Elder Scrolls Online, is now releasing a special edition of Wolfenstein: The New Order that doesn’t even come with the game.

The Panzerhund Edition of Wolfenstein is a special $100 collectors edition that is currently available for pre-order. It will include an 8″ Panzerhund statue, 14 Wolfenstein postcards, three embroidered patches, a custom set of dogtags and a Steelbook game case. It comes in a footlocker style box along with “classified documents.”

However, Bethesda says that the Panzerhund Edition of the game doesn’t come with a copy of the game. That’s another $60 (or your regional equivalent) for the actual game that you’re going to play on top of the $100 for all this ancillary stuff. And there’s probably going to be a $15 or $20 season pass on top of that. Bethesda says this is so they can ship out the Panzerhund Edition without having to wait for the release of the actual game to ship the pack.

I don’t really understand the need for Collectors Edition packs. I’ve never bought one and I’ve never seen a collectors pack that had anything that compelled me to buy it, this one included. The fact that Wolfenstein’s collectors edition doesn’t even have a copy of the game makes be question if you can call it a Wolfenstein collectors edition and just a piece of assorted memorabilia that has no purpose other than itself.

Long story short, a collectors edition for a game without a game is something I would equate to a cynical cash grab. That it’s from the same company trying to cash grab with an outdated MMO business model shouldn’t surprise me then. It doesn’t make it better, though.

Source: Bethesda Store