Opinion: The Price of Playing PS5 Games Day One Is Getting Higher and Higher 1
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There was condemnation of the industry’s decision to transition to $70 new releases at the start of the PS5 generation. For many, this price point breaks a psychological barrier, with software simply too expensive to be justified. Some have argued that cartridge-based software in the 90s was more costly, especially when adjusted for inflation; others have pointed out that budgets on AAA titles have exploded over the past decade. Either way, the prices aren’t coming down.

In fact, they’re quietly going up – but publishers are being sneaky about it. Many are now locking “early access” behind expensive Ultimate Editions of their games, pushing the price of new releases up to $100 or more. This is a trend we’ve noticed become increasingly common over the past few months, with titles like Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero and Silent Hill 2 adopting it as recently as last week.

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Publishers sell the concept of “early access”, but really you’re paying extra to play on day one. In the case of Bandai Namco’s aforementioned anime battler, it cost $100 to play the game 72 hours earlier than its “official” release date. To be fair, the arena outing’s Deluxe Edition does also include a Season Pass, so you get added value beyond the “early access” – but this is the very definition of upselling, and consumers are showing up in droves.

Opinion: The Price of Playing PS5 Games Day One Is Getting Higher and Higher 2

Prior to its standard edition releasing, almost 90k concurrent Steam players were logged in on Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, confirming an enormous number of consumers had stumped up for the expensive “early access”. The publisher announced the game had sold through three million units within 24 hours of its “official” launch, but it’s likely a large proportion of those sales came from the Deluxe Edition and Ultimate Edition, which was available to play earlier.

The thing is, this practice used to apply primarily to multiplayer games, but it’s clear single player titles are benefitting from the FOMO, too. Silent Hill 2 was available 72 hours earlier for those who paid $10 extra, and currently the first two chapters in Life Is Strange: Double Exposure are available to those who pod out $80 for the game. Those willing to wait an extra two weeks to start the next leg of Max Caulfield’s story will pay just $50. In both examples, additional content is included to sweeten the deal.

Effectively, though, we’re seeing the price of games almost double for those who want to play as early as possible – and it’s working. Star Wars Outlaws is perhaps the most egregious recent example, as it charged $130 for “early access” to its sci-fi open world – and then forced fans to restart their progress on PS5, due to a bug. The game was ultimately unfinished and undercooked, with the publisher plotting a series of crucial patches to get it back on track. The French publisher’s since said that everyone will be able to play Assassin’s Creed Shadows on the same day, regardless of which version you buy.

Opinion: The Price of Playing PS5 Games Day One Is Getting Higher and Higher 3

But this won’t be the end of the practice – in fact, we think it’s going to get worse. Sony dabbled with the idea for its ill-fated Concord, and we doubt it’ll be able to resist the temptation to upsell titles like Ghost of Yotei and Marvel’s Wolverine when they eventually arrive. And then there’s GTA 6: Rockstar will comfortably sell millions upon millions of copies at a significant mark-up with the promise of “early access”. Fans simply won’t want to miss out.

And thus, the price of playing new games at launch is going up. Yes, it’s still possible to sit on the sidelines with $70 pre-oreders and wait 72 hours or more to play – but many value being part of the zeitgeist. There’s an inherent need to be part of the conversation, and it’s going to drive the price of playing your favourites on launch day higher than it’s ever been. This is particularly sneaky because it’s technically not a price increase at all, yet it uses FOMO to force players into spending as much as possible.

Make no mistake, “early access” is not “early access” – it’s the game’s release date. If anything, the traditional $70 versions of titles are being delayed in order to upsell fans on expensive Ultimate Editions. Yes, they bundle in extra content and anyone with a shred of self-discipline will resist – but it’s clear this tactic is working, and it’s only going to get more and more common. How long before 72 hours becomes a week becomes a month? And even if you personally refuse to pay, there are millions upon millions who will.

How do you feel about the current trend of publishers locking “early access” to the most expensive edition of their games? Are you willing to pay extra to play early, or is this all a big scam? You don’t need to buy an Ultimate Edition to comment below.

Are you willing to pay more than $70 for "early access"?