Xbox One Digital Discounts Starting with Ryse?

Last Updated: February 17, 2014

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Today, the Xbox Twitter account, as well as Studio Manager Mike Ybarra, announced that digital downloads of Ryse: Son of Rome will be on sale for $39.99 (£34.99 in the UK) between February 18 and February 24. Its normal price is $59.99, the same as a physical copy. Once that deal is over, there will be deals on add-ons daily for an unspecified period of time.

According to Ybarra, this deal is because fans have been asking for discounts on digital games, and Ryse will be the first experiment. We wouldn’t be surprised if Ryse was chosen because of its new DLC being released on February 28. The sale period gives players the perfect opportunity to buy the game in time for the DLC.

He also said Microsoft is thinking of implementing a digital preorder system, so that players could preorder games from the Xbox Live Marketplace and download them at midnight on their release dates.

There is usually a significant difference in the prices of retail games and digital games, so their experiment with Ryse should be a successful one. If so, we can only hope they’ll make a more permanent adjustment to their prices. On the other hand, Amazon prices for new, physical copies of Ryse range from approximately $41-$50, so the price drop might not have as dramatic an effect as it otherwise would. A lot of fans think even the sale price is too high, while others think it’s an excellent bargain.

What do you think? Will you be picking up Ryse: Son of Rome when the deal begins tomorrow, or will you pass and wait for another deal?