Here's a scenario that's playing out in living rooms across America right now: a new sequel to a beloved franchise drops, the buzz is everywhere, and you decide you finally want to get into it. Then you open the store page, see that the series has four or five prior entries — some of which have their own DLC, some of which have been remastered, some of which are only available on specific platforms — and you quietly close the tab.
In 2026, the franchise buy-in problem has become one of the most underreported barriers in gaming. Publishers talk endlessly about growing their audiences, but the economic reality of catching up on a long-running series has never been more complicated — or more expensive. We picked three franchises with major 2026 releases and did the math.
Franchise One: Borderlands (New Entry: Borderlands 4, September 2026)
Gearbox's looter-shooter series is one of the most accessible franchises to price out because its catalog is relatively clean and widely available.
The full-story buy-in:
- Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition (includes all DLC): $29.99 on PS5/Xbox/PC during sale, $39.99 at standard price
- Borderlands 2 + all DLC (via Handsome Collection): $39.99 standard, frequently on sale for $9.99
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (included in Handsome Collection above): bundled
- Tales from the Borderlands (narrative spinoff, story-relevant): $14.99
- Borderlands 3 + all DLC (Super Deluxe Edition): $59.99 standard, $19.99 on sale
- Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (optional but story-adjacent): $39.99
- New Tales from the Borderlands (optional, largely standalone): $14.99
- Borderlands 4 standard edition: $69.99
True buy-in at standard prices (core story path, no optional titles): approximately $204 before tax. True buy-in at sale prices (everything, including optional entries): as low as $90–$110 if you're patient and strategic.
Subscription availability: Borderlands 3 has rotated through both Game Pass and PS Plus at various points. As of mid-2026, Borderlands 2 and the Handsome Collection are available on Xbox Game Pass. That meaningfully reduces the cost for subscribers — potentially saving $40–$50 on the back catalog alone.
Verdict: Borderlands is actually one of the more manageable franchises to buy into if you're a Game Pass subscriber or willing to wait for sales. The lore is dense but not impenetrable, and Gearbox has historically been good about narrative recaps.
Franchise Two: Assassin's Creed (New Entry: Assassin's Creed Hexe, 2026 window)
This is where things get genuinely daunting. Ubisoft's flagship series now spans over fifteen mainline entries, multiple spinoffs, and a live-service layer in the form of Assassin's Creed Infinity.
The realistic buy-in for the modern RPG era (post-Origins):
- Assassin's Creed Origins + DLC (Gold Edition): $49.99 standard, frequently $12–$15 on sale
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey + DLC (Gold Edition): $59.99 standard, frequently $15 on sale
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla + DLC (Complete Edition): $69.99 standard, frequently $20–$25 on sale
- Assassin's Creed Mirage: $39.99 standard
- Assassin's Creed Shadows (launched early 2025): $69.99 standard, likely $49.99 by mid-2026
- Assassin's Creed Hexe (2026): estimated $69.99–$79.99 based on current AAA pricing trends (not yet confirmed)
True buy-in (RPG era only, standard prices): approximately $359–$369 before tax. Sale prices (realistic): $130–$160 with patience.
Subscription availability: Multiple Assassin's Creed titles have appeared on both Ubisoft+ (Ubisoft's own $17.99/month subscription) and have rotated through PS Plus. Ubisoft+ is arguably the most cost-effective way to engage with the back catalog — one month of access at $17.99 could theoretically cover several older entries.
The problem: Hexe is reportedly a tonally distinct entry that functions somewhat as a standalone, which may reduce the narrative obligation to play everything before it. But Ubisoft's interconnected Infinity platform means some features and context will be richer for longtime players.
Verdict: Assassin's Creed is the franchise most likely to financially intimidate new players in 2026. The sheer volume of content — and the expectation that story threads carry forward — makes the complete buy-in almost unreasonable at standard prices.
Franchise Three: The Elder Scrolls (Context Entry: The Elder Scrolls VI, still without a confirmed release date but increasingly discussed in 2026 marketing)
This is a unique case because Elder Scrolls VI remains unconfirmed for 2026 — but Bethesda's increased marketing activity around the franchise in 2026 has pushed it back into the conversation, and a new generation of players is asking the entry-cost question for the first time.
The buy-in:
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition: $49.99 (though it has been $19.99 on sale repeatedly)
- The Elder Scrolls Online (base game, often free on PC): $5.99 on sale; full current content via ESO Plus at $14.99/month
- Oblivion Remastered (launched April 2026): $49.99
Game Pass: Skyrim Anniversary Edition and Oblivion Remastered are both available on Xbox Game Pass, making the Microsoft subscription the clear best-value route into the franchise. For Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, the back-catalog entry cost is effectively $0.
Verdict: The Elder Scrolls is paradoxically one of the cheapest franchises to enter in 2026 if you're on Game Pass — and one of the more expensive if you're not.
The Bigger Picture
What these numbers reveal is a market that has quietly stratified around subscription access. Players inside the Game Pass or PS Plus ecosystems face dramatically lower buy-in costs than those purchasing outright. The true cost of franchise loyalty in 2026 isn't just about the new $69.99 or $79.99 release — it's about the accumulated debt of every entry that came before it.
For publishers, this creates a perverse incentive: the longer a franchise runs, the more it depends on subscription platforms to remain accessible to new audiences. And the more it depends on subscriptions, the more leverage those platforms hold over the franchise's commercial future.
For players, the math is simple: if you're planning to dive into any of these series in 2026, a one-month Game Pass or PS Plus subscription is almost certainly the smartest first purchase you can make.
