Video games · Buying advice
Game Editions Explained: Standard, Deluxe, and the Disc You Might Not Get
Edition names tell you what content you get. They tell you nothing about whether a box arrives at your door. Here is the same question asked of five games, nine listings and three delivery formats.
Three delivery formats, scroll sideways
Edition names tell you what content you get. They tell you nothing about whether a disc, a cartridge, or an email code arrives. Check the delivery format separately from the edition tier.
Digital code
An activation key by email for Steam, Xbox or PlayStation Store. Nothing ships. Not resellable, not lendable, never out of stock.
Physical disc
A Blu-ray in a case. Needs a console with an optical drive, which rules out the PS5 Digital Edition and the Xbox Series S entirely.
Game card
Nintendo Switch cartridges. Physical, resellable, and not a disc — which breaks most two-way format filters.
Code in a box
The worst of both. A retail box containing a slip of paper with a key on it. Common for PC releases that look like they ship media.
Edition tier
Standard, Deluxe, Ultimate and Complete describe bundled content, and vary independently of the delivery format.
The edition matrix, game by game
Every entry below is a separate purchasable listing. Where two entries share a title, the badge is the only thing distinguishing them.
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate EditionCD Projekt Red · December 2023 · 2 listings
Base game plus the Phantom Liberty expansion in one package. This is the title where the digital-versus-disc distinction bites hardest, because the two listings carry the same name, the same cover art and a price difference of about fifteen dollars.
- Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition — PC DigitalPC (Windows) · Ultimate Edition · Online game code, no disc shipped · $54.99 · Amazon search link available
Delivered as a Steam activation key by email. Nothing arrives in the post. There is no PC disc release of the Ultimate Edition at all.
Buy the code on Amazon - Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition — PlayStation 5 PhysicalPlayStation 5 · Ultimate Edition · Blu-ray disc in a case · $49.99 · Amazon search link available
A physical Blu-ray disc. Requires the PS5 model with an optical drive; the Digital Edition console cannot read it. Roughly 70 GB installs from the disc, then patches over the network.
Buy the disc on Amazon
Developer: CD Projekt Red. Publisher: CD Projekt Red.
Baldur’s Gate 3Larian Studios · August 2023 · 2 listings
The Deluxe Edition is a physical object with a soundtrack CD, a map and a dice set. The Standard Edition on PC is not an object at all. Same game, entirely different purchase.
- Baldur’s Gate 3: Deluxe Edition — PlayStation 5 PhysicalPlayStation 5 · Deluxe Edition · Blu-ray disc plus physical extras · $69.99 · Amazon search link available
Two discs, a cloth map, an art booklet, a dice set and a soundtrack CD. The extras are the reason this edition exists; the game data is identical to the standard release.
Buy the disc on Amazon - Baldur’s Gate 3: Standard Edition — PC DigitalPC (Windows, macOS) · Standard Edition · Digital download only · $59.99 · Amazon search link available
Sold as a download through Steam and GOG. We have deliberately left the item number off this entry: Larian does not sell a PC disc, and any listing you find that claims to ship one is a key in a box.
Buy the code on Amazon
Developer: Larian Studios. Publisher: Larian Studios.
Elden Ring Shadow of the ErdtreeBandai Namco Entertainment · June 2024 · 2 listings
An expansion that requires the base game, sold both as a standalone download and inside a physical bundle with the base game on disc. The names differ by four words and the products differ completely.
- Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree — Expansion DigitalPC (Windows) · Expansion · Downloadable content code · $39.99 · Amazon search link available
Requires Elden Ring to already be installed and licensed. This is a DLC code and cannot be played on its own.
Buy the code on Amazon - Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Edition — PlayStation 5 PhysicalPlayStation 5 · Deluxe Edition · Blu-ray disc, base game plus expansion · $79.99 · Amazon search link available
The bundle: base game on disc with the expansion included. If you already own Elden Ring, this is the wrong purchase and you want the standalone expansion above.
Buy the disc on Amazon
Developer: FromSoftware. Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment.
Hogwarts LegacyWarner Bros. Games · February 2023 · 2 listings
The clearest Standard-versus-Deluxe split of the group, and a useful reminder that the edition tier and the delivery format are two independent choices.
- Hogwarts Legacy: Standard Edition — Xbox Series X PhysicalXbox Series X|S · Standard Edition · Blu-ray disc in a case · $39.99 · Amazon search link available
A disc. Plays on Xbox Series X and on Xbox One with the older build; the Series S has no drive and cannot use it.
Buy the disc on Amazon - Hogwarts Legacy: Digital Deluxe Edition — Xbox DigitalXbox Series X|S, Xbox One · Deluxe Edition · Online game code · $69.99 · Amazon search link available
Adds the Dark Arts Pack, Thestral mount and 72-hour early access, and exists only as a code. There is no disc version of the Deluxe Edition on any platform.
Buy the code on Amazon
Developer: Avalanche Software. Publisher: Warner Bros. Games.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of WisdomNintendo · September 2024 · 1 listing
Included as the awkward case. Nintendo ships physical media that is not a disc, so a catalogue with only two delivery categories has nowhere to put it.
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom — Nintendo Switch PhysicalNintendo Switch · Standard Edition · Game card (cartridge), not a disc · $59.99 · Amazon search link available
Physical, but a solid-state game card. It is not a disc and it is not a download, and the Switch has no optical drive of any kind.
Buy the cartridge on Amazon
Developer: Grezzo. Publisher: Nintendo.
Four rules that survive every storefront
- Check the console before the edition. A PS5 Digital Edition or an Xbox Series S cannot use any disc, so the Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition Blu-ray and the Hogwarts Legacy Standard Edition disc are both dead ends on those machines.
- PC almost never means media. Baldur’s Gate 3 on PC and Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on PC are both downloads regardless of how the listing is photographed.
- Expansions are not editions. Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree as a $39.99 download needs the base game; the $79.99 PlayStation 5 disc includes it.
- Deluxe is content, not format. Hogwarts Legacy sells a Digital Deluxe with no disc anywhere, and Baldur’s Gate 3 sells a Deluxe that exists only as a box.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a game edition and a delivery format?
Edition names — Standard, Deluxe, Ultimate, Complete — describe bundled content. Delivery format is whether a disc, a Nintendo game card, or an email activation code arrives. Those two choices are independent: Hogwarts Legacy sells a Digital Deluxe with no disc anywhere, and Baldur’s Gate 3 sells a Deluxe that exists only as a box.
Can a PS5 Digital Edition or Xbox Series S play a disc copy?
No. Neither console has an optical drive, so the Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition Blu-ray and the Hogwarts Legacy Standard Edition disc are both dead ends on those machines. You need a digital code, or a console with a drive.
Does buying a PC Ultimate or Deluxe edition mean a disc ships?
Almost never. Baldur’s Gate 3 on PC and Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on PC are both downloads regardless of how the listing is photographed. There is no PC disc release of Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition. A listing that claims to ship a PC disc is usually a key in a box.
Is Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree a full game or DLC?
The $39.99 PC download is DLC and requires Elden Ring already installed and licensed. The $79.99 PlayStation 5 Shadow of the Erdtree Edition disc is the bundle: base game plus expansion. If you already own Elden Ring, the disc bundle is the wrong purchase.
Is a Nintendo Switch game card a disc?
No. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom ships as a solid-state game card. It is physical and resellable, but it is not a disc, and the Switch has no optical drive of any kind.