10 most expensive collector's editions that actually sold
By Ryan Woodrow
Do you have too much money? Do you want more branded tat on your bedroom shelves? Well, video games have just the solution for you. Whenever a big release comes out, you can be sure a deluxe edition, a special edition, or a collector’s edition will be released alongside it – often all of them at once in Ubisoft’s case.
Some developers like the push the boundaries though, offering detailed figures, art books aplenty, and all sorts of other unique oddities. Those come at a hefty price tag, and we’re looking back at the worst offenders.
That said, we’re not counting the glorified publicity stunts. You may have heard of the Saints Row 4 edition, containing a trip to space for $1 million, or Dying Light’s $10 million edition that would get you a role in the Dying Light movie. The thing is, no one was stupid enough to buy these, and we suspect that the publishers were well aware of that, just looking to grab headlines. That’s why these are the most expensive collector’s editions that people actually bought.
Crysis 2: Maximum Graphics Edition – $300
While collector’s editions often like to cram in as much crap as possible, sometimes it’s all about one big-ticket item. The Crysis series enjoyed its reputation for pushing the boundaries of video game graphics at the time, which meant you needed some expensive kit to play them.
To push that idea, this special edition of Crysis 2 came with an EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti graphics card for your PC. By modern standards, that does fall a bit short, but in 2011, it was a top-of-the-line piece of tech. If only you could still get a 4090 for a price like that.
Middle Earth: Shadow of War: Mythril Edition – $300
Cool tech is the exception, not the rule here, as from here on out it’s mostly about big and complicated-looking figures. Shadow of War didn’t have the best launch, but we hope that anyone who spent $300 on this edition was happy with it. Most of the items are nothing to shout about, but the 12-inch figure is quite impressive, depicting a battle between a Tar-Goroth Balrog and a Carnan Drake.
Dirt 3: Collector’s Edition – $300
Dirt 3’s cover and marketing focused almost entirely on one car: a Ken Block Gymkhana rallying Ford Fiesta. The game’s most expensive edition lets you own one yourself, as long as you’re very, very short. This RC car is modeled on the real thing, and while it may seem expensive (because it is), it’s not that far off the pricing of real high-quality RC cars.
Black Myth: Wukong: Collector’s Edition – $400
Putting down so much cash on a new IP is a big risk, but sometimes that pays off. Still, even if you had every faith in Wukong, $400 is a lot to put down on this collector’s edition. The main piece is a 15-inch figure of the protagonist, alongside a very nicely-drawn scroll print. Add on a necklace, ring, pin, and a steelbook case for your game shelf, and you’ve got an impressive – if expensive – package.
Armored Core 6: Premium Edition – $450
The pricing on Armored Core 6’s editions is a little strange. You’d think the mech figure would be the most expensive part of this collection, but it seems it’s actually the garage it comes in, as an edition with the figure but without the garage was available for about half the price. Still, you get a nice-looking steelbook, some pins, sticks, the game’s soundtrack, and of course, an artbook.
Project Cars 2: Ultra Edition – $550
Some people really love cars and are willing to pay a lot for things relating to them (I can’t help but feel like this is foreshadowing something). Project Cars 2 formed an exclusive deal to create this edition with McLaren. Limited to just 1,000 units, this version of the game comes with a model of the McLaren 720S, as well as a sketchbook showing the design process of the car.
Assassin’s Creed Origins: Dawn of the Creed Edition – $800
Taking a big jump up to $800, it’s no surprise Assassin’s Creed appeared on this list – AC Shadows was only a few dollars shy of making this list. Limited to 1,000 copies, this box contained an 11-inch statue of the protagonist Byek in a giant metal collectors' box. Said box also contained a replica of Bayek’s eagle skull, an artbook, a steelbook, lithographs, soundtrack, and the game’s season pass.
Dark Souls 3: Prestige Edition – $800
FromSoftware knows how to be extra, as they made this edition include not just one, but two figures. First up is the 15-inch Lord of Cinder figure, which towers over the 10-inch Red Knight figure that comes with it. Aside from that, there’s nothing we haven’t come to expect from these editions, but that’s quickly becoming small fries compared to the overall value of these bundles.
Resident Evil 6: Leather Jacket Edition – $1,300
Cracking four figures, we have Resident Evil 6, which brings us an odd collection of items. The big item (and the only one that seems to matter) is a real leather replica of Leon Kenedy’s jacket. It’s certainly a nice jacket, but $1,300 sure seems like way too much to pay for it. The only other things that come with it are a few tablet cases, stickers, and a bit of DLC.
Grid 2: Mono Edition – $188,000
Five figures are for suckers, we’re skipping straight to six. The $60 price of the game is entirely dwarfed at this point by the sum you’d have to pay to buy this real, honest-to-god supercar that comes with this edition of Grid 2. On top of that, buying it got you a tour of the factory where it was made and your own racing gear made to measure.
We promised at the start that all of these were actually bought by real people, and we weren’t bluffing; someone put their money down on this. It was none other than Deadmau5, which, when you realize this game came out in 2013, makes a lot of sense.
If you want to see just how expensive mint-condition copies of classic games can get, check out our list of the rarest and most expensive video games of all time.