A Look At The Uncharted 4 Special Edition & The Collector Edition

Most gamers have heard of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, and for many, the series ranks among their all-time favorites.

This article, of course, focuses on the fourth main entry in the saga, following Nathan Drake and his incredible adventures.

This time, I decided to go all in and pick up both premium versions—the Special Edition and the Collector’s Edition. Whether that was a wise decision… well, that remains to be seen.

The Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Collector’s Edition is easily the largest Uncharted box released so far—at least in my experience. The overall design feels premium, with solid build quality and a strong art direction that really helps it stand out on the shelf.

The presentation is fairly understated, much like Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. There are no over-the-top explosions or flashy elements—just a clean, minimal design centered around a simple symbol.

The Steelbook, on the other hand, is absolutely stunning—featuring fantastic artwork and a distinctly cinematic cover. It leans heavily into that classic ‘70s–‘80s movie poster aesthetic, which might be a bit over the top for some, but personally, I love that style.

It does make you wonder, though—why doesn’t the main Collector’s Edition box follow the same direction?

The disc included is the standard retail version, nothing out of the ordinary there. You also get a set of DLC codes—some offering exclusive Collector’s Edition content, alongside others shared across the Limited, Special, and Collector’s Edition releases.

Stickers… well, I already picked up a set with the Uncharted Trilogy last year—and they’re still unopened. Honestly, they’ll probably stay that way, even if I’ve got duplicates.

They always seem like a great idea—right up until you actually use them. At least, that’s how I see it.

Interestingly, games from the ’80s and ’90s that originally included stickers can fetch quite a premium today—especially when those extras are still intact and untouched.

Artbook! Steelbook! At this point, it really feels like this should be one seriously stacked Collector’s Edition, right?

The artbook itself does look great—but it’s only A5-sized and surprisingly slim, with very few pages.

That’s a bit of an odd choice, to be honest. Collector’s Editions at this level usually come with full-sized, more substantial artbooks, so this one feels a little underwhelming by comparison.

I get the feeling this is essentially a mini version of a full-sized, full-priced artbook—much like what they did with the Uncharted Trilogy release.

I’ll definitely pick up the proper version if I come across it in the wild, but it’s still a bit disappointing that such an expensive collectible only includes this scaled-down edition of the artbook.

Figurine! The included statue depicts Nathan Drake mid-run, reaching for his gun—an instantly recognizable pose.

The level of detail is excellent, and everything feels solid and high quality. The pose is particularly well chosen—in fact, it might be the perfect one, as it captures a movement you’ll see countless times throughout the game.

The figurine pictured from all sides.

Attention to details you say? look at the small details here.  They must have spent a lot of time on doing all these skin, bone/muscle touches.

Every detail is there, look at the watch, the gun, the holster, the belt buckle and even the ring.

It is almost like you expect to find stuff in his pockets, or real ammo in his gun, or the clock ticking.

Here are a few more close-ups of the figurine—this is exactly the kind of thing I love photographing. Not bums… I mean, details!

I never expect a figurine to be perfect. Sometimes they’re just “okay,” sometimes they’re genuinely impressive, and on very rare occasions you come across something truly exceptional—like the stunning statue from The Elder Scrolls Online.

This Nathan Drake piece, unfortunately, doesn’t quite reach those heights. It’s good—arguably even very good—but it doesn’t rank among the absolute best.

What? yup this is all there was in the box, no art cards, postcards or whatever.

I probably shouldn’t complain too much—the overall quality of what’s included here is genuinely good, even very good. Sure, it could have been better, but it’s honestly hard to pinpoint exactly what’s missing.

This Collector’s Edition comes so close to feeling truly special, yet it lacks that real “OMG” factor, which makes it stumble slightly at the finish line.

Another curious detail is the lack of numbering. Neither the box nor the figurine includes any kind of limited edition number, so there’s no clear indication of how many were produced. Considering how sought-after the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception figurines have become over time, it’ll be interesting to see how this one fares in the long run.

Don’t go just yet, there’s more.

Yup, Uncharted 4 Special Edition, I decided to get this one too on launch due to its box design and that it might end up as rare quickly (read “overpriced”).

The box design is identical to Bloodborne and The Nathan Drake Collection, so this is a nice addition to the collection.

I actually like this box more than the huge one from the Collectors Edition, yes I know it is more or less identical, but some stuff just looks better when it is smaller (or bigger).

It is obvious that they haven’t just selected a random cardboard box factory, the quality is as with the C.E edition, awesome!.

Do you recognize these? , yes, they are indeed identical to the ones in the Collectors Edition, what the hell?, the artbook is the same too, strange how they did not put the figurine in there too (hehe).

So, they went the cheap way with the artbook for sure then, both editions have the same one.

So here you can see “all” the contents of the Special Edition box — essentially identical to the Collector’s Edition, aside from the box itself.

What a letdown. It honestly feels like I’m being punished for picking up both versions. Why on earth isn’t there something unique in this edition? Sure, it might feel special if you only own this version — but still?

Will I ever sell them? I doubt it.

At the end of the day, anything Uncharted is a win. These two boxes are worth the money to me regardless — but my scores (a 9 and a 7) clearly reflect that sense of disappointment.