The $US200 ($278) God Of War Ragnarök Collector’s Edition comes in a gold-embossed box, featuring a 16-inch replica of the Norse god Thor’s Mjölnir hammer, a set of engraved dwarven dice, downloadable cosmetics and much more. This “plus” will ideally absorb some of the sting if, as other buyers have reported, you open your $US200 ($278) box and realize that not only is there no steel display case, there’s has game code .
My collector’s edition was missing the steel book and game code. The box was closed and this was the only item missing. pic.twitter.com/3rZ35tEDOn
— Koroshiya (@_Koroshiya) November 9, 2022
So my GOW collector’s edition had no steel book (missing in the top section) and I have no way to download the game or any digital content. I don’t know what to do or how to express my disappointment @PlayStation @SonySantaMonica #collectorsEdition
— Critter Manley (@thecrittman) November 9, 2022
The combination of digital code and steelbook case was already annoying without this apparent manufacturing error. When the Ragnarök Collector’s Edition was announced earlier this summer, with custom items and downloadable content, but no physical game to fit inside the pricey steel case, Ian Walker wrote for Kotaku that “the gaming industry seems to be becoming increasingly hostile to the concept of ownership, which may be a concern as older online storefronts are phased out.”
So you pay a premium for the physical, for the $200 ($278) cases and $70 ($97) games, but you might not get what you wanted. Most of the Collector’s Edition bugs seem to involve both a steel case and missing game code, but a Reddit user, who has since created the Twitter account @HelpUsSMS dedicated solely to looking for rectification and collecting examples of similar errors, received two codes for the same -Game Cosmetics instead of a cosmetic code and a game code. And so far, the perceived lack of urgency in Sony’s efforts to resolve these issues is only causing more frustration.
“Were you able to solve this?” another user asked them.
“In 5-7 days apparently,” they replied.
@GameStop @GameStopHelp my boyfriend and I stood in line tonight to get God of War tonight at midnight. We bought the $200 collectors edition. We open it and NO steelbookstore and no voucher code for the game. Now GS is closed as it is almost 2 am. This is amazing.
— Chels☁️ (@chelsea___g) November 9, 2022
Sony Santa Monica when someone tweets a cosplay: 😩😫😋
Sony Santa Monica when their customers don’t receive the games they paid for.: 🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗 #GodofWar #GodofWarRagnarok https://t.co/mzlCsRs4kF
— GOW Collector’s Edition Incident! (@HelpUsSMS) November 10, 2022
Others are reporting similar wait times and difficulty getting immediate attention from Sony.
“It’s a shame that Sony has pretty much destroyed their online support. @AskPlayStation is no longer responding and no email either,” HelpUsSMS told me on Twitter. “So we have to wait on the phone or wait for an online chat.” And if you’ve ever bought something before, you know how long it can take. Sony did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.