Pre-orders are an essential part of most AAA video game releases, allowing developers and publishers to net plenty of money well before reviews and other first-hand accounts hit the web. In exchange for their hard-earned cash, early adopters typically get some kind of in-game perk or in the case of higher-tier bundles, a collectible knickknack.
It's a strategy that's served the industry well and now, the model is expanding to the world of film.
In collaboration with Fox, New Regency, Project TriForce and McFarlane Toys, Ubisoft is now giving fans the opportunity to pre-order tickets to the upcoming Assassin's Creed movie as part of bundles that include various bits of merchandise.
So, what's up for grabs?
At the low end of the price spectrum - $15 - is a single movie ticket, a collector's watch, a copy of the movie's script and some temporary tattoos which seems quite reasonable. For an additional $10, you can score a t-shirt, movie ticket and script while $120 will get you a ticket, script and a hoodie.
Those with a bit more scratch to spare can drop $600 for a bundle that includes an Aguilar Premiere Scale Statue while a whopping $1,200 gets you an exact 1:1 scale replica of the Spanish crossbow from the movie.
Personally, I'm a bit surprised that we haven't seen movie pre-order bundles like this sooner but I digress. Assassin's Creed lands in theaters on December 21.