Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition For Xbox And PlayStation Have One Huge Difference – Screen Rant

Summary

The PS5, Xbox, and PC versions of Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition have one major, head-scratching difference. Ultimate Editions are a fairly common release strategy for AAA games: a few years after release, once they've completed a run of DLC, they'll bundle everything up into one convenient package. They'll usually boast some snazzy new packaging, a different cover, and from time to time, a banner if they've won a Game of the Year award. Cyberpunk, which recently saw an impressive 2.0 update followed by the electrifying Phantom Liberty DLC, seems to have finally found its footing, so the time is right for an Ultimate Edition of Cyberpunk.

These Ultimate Editions tend to be good deals, nice collectibles, and perfect starting points for players who might've missed a game's original release. However, the announcement of Cyberpunk's was marred by confusion and controversy, mostly caused by an inexplicable, seemingly avoidable release format decision. Here's what's going on, and an idea of why.

For whatever reason, the PS5 version of Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition won't include the Phantom Liberty DLC on a disc. The Xbox and PC versions have the DLC on a disc, while the PS5 version comes with a voucher code to digitally download it. This is confirmed by a series of online pre-order listings for the PS5 release, all of which display a small banner reading, "Includes PSN voucher code for Phantom Liberty." Digitally downloading the DLC takes up more hard drive space, and also destroys any resale value the Ultimate Edition might've had. On PS5, once that code is used, it's functionally identical to the base edition.

Cyberpunk 2077 not including its DLC on a disc seems baffling, but there may be a perfectly good explanation. According to an X (formerly Twitter) post by John Linneman of Digital Foundry, Sony uniquely requires developers who release DLC packed in on game discs to create a new Stock Keeping Unit, or SKU. In short, this requires recompiling the entire game and resubmitting it to Sony for licensing approval - both processes that require a great deal of time and money that CD Projekt Red may not have wanted to spend.

And this isn't the first PlayStation game to put out off-disc DLC codes in a special edition, either. Marvel's Spider-Man and Nier: Automata's Game of the Year Editions, Resident Evil Village's Gold Edition, and Star Wars Battlefront's Ultimate Edition all came with separate codes on the PS4. Mortal Kombat 11's Ultimate Edition included the DLC on disc for Xbox Series X/S players, but on a separate voucher for PS5 players.

So it's not totally unheard of to release an Ultimate Edition with DLC on a separate voucher, but it is a little disappointing. Either way, Cyberpunk's Ultimate Edition is still a good deal, including the base game and DLC for just the price of the former. It would've been nice to have the complete Cyberpunk 2077 package in physical form, but at this rate, that seems to be a privilege limited to Xbox and PC players.

Source: John Linneman/X

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Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition For Xbox And PlayStation Have One Huge Difference - Screen Rant