Sony’s $149.99 God of War: Laufey Collector Box includes franchise merchandise, but not the game. There’s no disc or digital download code in the box. The fine print says, “God of War Laufey game sold separately.”
The box contains three items: a Faye statue, a 51-card Oracle deck, and a mini artbook. Sony’s product description calls the deck’s illustrations “Stunning bespoke illustrations” and says their meanings are inspired by Faye’s journey. The mini artbook contains “incredible concept art that shaped the world of God of War Laufey.” The bundle releases on Feb. 16, 2027, alongside the game, which buyers must purchase separately.
Leaving out the game breaks with the expectation set by earlier God of War collector editions. The contrast is sharper because Sony made a different packaging mistake with Ragnarok: its collector’s edition didn’t include a physical game disc, but Sony later sent affected customers a digital copy. With Laufey, the game’s absence is stated upfront. This isn’t a disc accidentally left out; the box is sold as merchandise, with the game excluded.
The statue may help explain the price. Resin figures that seem similar in size to the Light-Up Faye Statue can cost between $50 and $200. It’s hard to compare them precisely, though, because the product page doesn’t give the statue’s exact measurements. The Oracle deck and mini artbook are the other listed items in the $149.99 package.
Rockstar has taken a similar approach with its $399.99 Grand Theft Auto 6 collector’s box, which also excludes the game. Instead, it contains merchandise based on a fictional show from the game: sunglasses, hats, shot glasses, and other paraphernalia. The source article argues that the haul doesn’t seem to justify a price close to $400.
These boxes also reflect a wider shift in collector culture. Fandom-driven collectibles are gaining ground as prices for trading cards and other nerd-culture staples rise on secondary markets. Meanwhile, Rockstar and Sony have both come under fire for moving away from physical games. “Physical” copies of Grand Theft Auto 6 won’t include discs; they’ll come with a download code in a case.
Laufey will have a physical release with a disc, but Sony has announced that it will stop producing physical copies of its games starting in 2028. Against that backdrop, collector boxes built around merchandise rather than a game case and disc look like a preview of an all-digital future. For buyers, the question is simple: how much are the collectibles worth when the game costs extra?
