Call me lazy if you want but I don't think someone should need to look up a guide on how to buy a video game without feeling scammed. I feel like I've been seeing this more and more lately with abstractly named tiered bundles, complete editions that don't contain everything, and remasters of games that feel like they should have been updates.
I've listed a few examples below but can you think of any others?
Examples:
The photo I attached is a buying guide for Hitman 3. A game that still confuses me. For those that don't know Hitman 1 and 2 can be played in Hitman 3 but the game is sold in bundles. I believe part one contains missions from the first game but the standard edition, the next level up, does not contain all the levels for Hitman 2 but does have all the levels for Hitman 3. The deluxe edition has all of Hitman 2 and a good chunk of the small DLC like cosmetics and challenge missions but not all of them.
Before Hitman 3 was rebranded as World of Assassination I believe you could avoid repaying for the games you already own (at least on Steam) but I don't think that's the case any more.
So as someone who owns the original Hitman I believe I essentially need to rebuy it as part of the deluxe edition if I want to play Hitman 1 and 2.
Intravenous for example was released in July 2021 and from my understanding is being remastered with features from the sequel, Intravenous 2 (released August 2024), as a DLC for the sequel under the name Intravenous IV2.
Warhammer Total War, the series where DLCs feed forward to the new title.
Elder Scrolls Online, there is a base game, a sub that does not include the base game or expansions, an expansion upgrade and expansion editions, and content that are not technically expansions.
To explain Total Warhammer to others-
You buy Warhammer 3 and you get 11 factions (5 DoC, 2 Kislev, 2 Cathay, 2 secret) a Warhammer 3 only sandbox (Realm of Chaos) and the good sandbox (Mortal Empires)
Warhammer 3 FLC/DLC can be used in RoC, ME, and multiplayer
Warhammer 1 & 2 content unlocks more factions for multiplayer and ME. Each DLC will unlock 1-2 factions with their base rosters, and 2-4 unique units. The two base games unlock 8* factions and their base roster each.
Love the game, but you're right. It was actually going to be worse at warhammer 3's release. Creative Assembly was planning to gatekeep the biggest campaign behind owning previous games. They caved under public pressure fortunately.