With the growth of digital distribution systems like Steam and PlayStation Network, game publishers can’t rely on the fear of limited supplies to convince consumers to pre-order new titles. Instead, they have to offer all kinds of incentives like discounted prices, merchandise, and exclusive downloadable content (DLC) to bribe – or in some cases extort – players to convince them to pre-order.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but Square Enix Holdings Co. Ltd. is taking a somewhat underhanded approach to pre-order bonuses for the upcoming Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the much anticipated follow-up to the 2011 game Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

For the new game, Square Enix is offering a 5-tier pre-order bonus system, with each tier offering one to three bonuses like digital art books, comics, and even a 4-day early release. The tiers are meant to unlock progressively depending on how many people pre-order the game, so unless Square Enix meets their arbitrary “predetermined global pre-order goals,” players will not get all of the content advertised as a pre-order bonus. Worse still, players can only choose one pre-order bonus from each tier.

As you can imagine, fans are not exactly happy with this decision.

“This is precisely why I no longer pre-order games,” one Reddit user said. “If you’re going to offer content that’s not available to the impulse buyer, then I’m not interested. I’d rather wait for the reviews and a wait a couple of weeks before deciding to buy.”

According to Square Enix, the program is all about letting players choose the bonuses they want. Of course, if you want all of the pre-order bonuses, Square Enix is more than happy to offer the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Collector’s Edition for a little extra cash, but apparently you still need to pre-order it for the bonuses. The publisher will also allow anyone to choose from the pre-order rewards, but they will not actually be unlocked unless they pre-order the game.

“During the pre-order window, anyone can access the website to view the rewards and share them on social media,” the program’s FAQ says. “However in order to participate and redeem the selected rewards, you must pre-order the game to get the unlock token for the program

So far, only the first pre-order tier is unlocked, which includes a choice of three “Covert Agent Packs” that start players off with a few extra weapons and augments at the beginning of the game. It is basically a pre-order cheat code for overpowered early-game weapons.

Screenshot via DeusEx.com