The God of War Laufey Collector's Edition is the latest to release without the game itself, and that's going down just as well as you'd expect following Sony's call to ditch PlayStation discs

God of War Laufey is getting a pricey collector's edition with some fancy goodies – but it's bad news if you actually wanted to play the game itself.

The year is 2026, and you expected to get a copy of a game included with the expensive special edition you're buying? Preposterous! But no, seriously, this trend of collector's editions being sold without the games they're for – not even including a download code – is a baffling one, and after GTA 6 did the same thing earlier this month, Sony is continuing it with its upcoming God of War title. Not exactly a great look with everyone still annoyed about its plans to kill physical discs.

Revealed by PlayStation today, the £129.99 (PS Direct UK, we're still waiting on US pre-orders to drop) God of War Laufey collector's edition, or rather the "Collector Box" as Sony is calling it (perhaps to better reflect the lack of actual game), includes just three items – a mini artbook and a 51-card "Oracle Deck" being two of them. The star of the show, and undoubtedly the thing that puts the cost of the box as high as it is, is a light-up statue of Faye.

The store page doesn't say how large this statue is, but it's made of resin, and shows Faye attacking some foes while her trusty cube companion Phranque smiles on in the background. At least, I assume he would be if he had a face.

Strangely, the Collector Box hasn't yet been listed in the US at the time of writing, but in the UK, it'll cost you £130. Without the game included in that price, that essentially means fans are going to be paying a minimum of £200 for their full God of War Laufey experience next February.

At least God of War: Laufey is actually getting a physical disc release, even if you won't be getting it in a fancy box with a statue. Sony has announced that it's killing physical releases for new PlayStation games starting in 2028 – a decision that's gone down horribly and is continuing to see backlash months later.

And fans aren't happy with Sony for leaving the game out of Laufey's Collector Box, either. The God of War Ragnarok Collector's Edition also didn't come with a physical disc, but it did at least include a download code, which was something. This time, not so much.

"I remember when collector's editions used to come with games. Not liking this new trend," one responds on Twitter. "Doesn't even come with a sad little code," says another.

Well, one saving grace is that it's significantly cheaper than GTA 6's own Collector's Box, anyway. Similarly not including a game code, Rockstar's box of merch costs £350 / $400, but hey, at least you get an ugly gator statue with it, and that's obviously what fans have been waiting the last 13 years for.

The Last of Us director apologizes for using God of War Laufey as an example of "lack" of innovation in AAA: "This isn't the team's fault."

• UK pre-order | £129.99 at PS Direct
• US pre-order | Check PS Direct