What happens if i preorder a game

Pre-order early to be safe. Though a credit card is required to place a pre-order, it will not be charged until your item ships so please be sure your card is not due to expire between the time you place your order and the time your item is expected to ship. If you pre-order a game, you are paying money for a product that is not yet released. Often this will include a release date, so you can know when to expect the game to be available.

When you buy a Pre-Order, you will receive a blank download page that is awaiting content. Do not delete it! A pre-order strategy works by allowing customers to place an order for an item that is not yet released.

For ecommerce pre-orders, retailers will either charge the customer when the order is placed or once the item is shipped to the customer. If you used account credit to pre-order your game, your balance will be taken immediately. Pre-orders allow consumers to guarantee immediate shipment on release , manufacturers can gauge how much demand there will be and thus the size of initial production runs, and sellers can be assured of minimum sales.

Additionally, high pre-order rates can be used to increase sales further. Pre-orders guarantee you a certain amount of product sales and revenue during a specific period of time.

You can use pre-orders as a useful survey to determine the demand for your products in a target market and estimate what quantity you need to fulfill the demands. When many consumers anticipate an item, a retailer may offer it for pre-order before it arrives in stores.

A pre-order is an order you place for a product which will be released and shipped at a later date, but for which you will not be charged until within a few days of shipping. A pre-purchase is a pre-order for which you will be charged immediately upon placing your order.

If you pre-order a digital copy of NBA 2K21 you can pre-load the game and start playing when the clock strikes Midnight Eastern on September 4th. So if you live in California, that means 9PM on September 3rd. It might even contain ways to trick you into spending more money. When will I be charged for a pre-order? However, if delivery isn't an option, preordering could mean you have a guaranteed copy you can pick up at your convenience that day.

The whole purpose of preordering games originated from stores needing to predict demand for physical media. However, with video games being available digitally now — even exclusively so at times — that's not a worry anymore. To entice consumers to preorder games these days, studios are partnering with stores to offer exclusive digital content in some cases, though physical copies can include collectors' items now, too. Additionally, sometimes retailers hold preorder sales.

However, you can't expect these deals to last long. If the idea of preordering video games sounds enticing, you might be surprised to know it's a rather controversial topic. These days, preordering can be a good way for studios to generate interest in their product. Additionally, if they sell enough preorders, some studios might be more reluctant to fully polish their product before releasing it. Another concern is that by preordering, you're pledging to buy a product you haven't seen reviews for yet.

Let's say you're excited to preorder a game because its developers have promised a lot of amazing features. However, those features may turn out to be vastly different than you'd expect. Check out the controversy surrounding No Man's Sky for a good example of this.

The best way to preorder games is to do so with care. If you have a favorite independent studio that delivers quality content more often than not, you can probably feel confident in preordering a title from them.

However, if a game's coming from a bigger studio that's routinely criticized for release-day patches or missing content, maybe hold off on that purchase until the reviews start rolling in. Plenty of retailers provide the opportunity to preorder video games. And many of them offer the same sorts of policies — think preorder price guarantees and release-day delivery.

Amazon is one retailer that offers release-day delivery for preordered items — assuming they're eligible, of course. Be careful when you preorder a game from the online giant: ensure the item qualifies for this type of delivery. If the original purchase completed successfully, you'll be able to download the game, and you won't have to pay again.

To search for the game in the Microsoft Store:. Select Store , and then select Browse games. You may need to select See all suggestions. Then select Add to Home. If you don't see the Install option, or if you see a price listed for the purchase, don't purchase the game, as this might result in you being charged again. To verify whether the original purchase was successful:. In a web browser, sign in to your Microsoft account. If your original purchase was successful, the transaction will be listed as "Completed.

Collapse all Frequently asked questions. What games are available for pre-order? For a full list of games available to pre-order today, visit the Xbox Games Catalog page. To view details of any pre-order bonus offers available, go to the game details or bundle details section at the bottom of the game info page. Xbox Games Catalog. You can also find a list of Xbox Play Anywhere games available for pre-order by visiting the Xbox Play Anywhere page:. Xbox Play Anywhere.

When can I play my game? You can play the game as soon as it's released in your region, usually shortly after AM local time on the release date. Note If you live in a country that has multiple time zones, there may be a delay in some zones.