Game Pre-Orders and Pre-Downloads

Did you pre-order the game as a digital download, or the physical disc version?

For digital download pre-orders, the code should be immediately sent to you after you pre-order.

For physical game pre-orders, the code will be included with the actual game at launch date.

Source:
support.ubi.com/.../000025147

Pre orders on the Xbox dashboard are for the digital download version. No disc required. How it works is that if you pre order the game on the dashboard, it will pre download it, then allow you to play it from midnight the day
of release.

Unfortunately Microsoft only allows you to pre-order games that have some kind of pre-loading.

Games that aren't in manufacture or close to that point aren't open to pre-orders because the Xbox has nothing to download.

Either it is a fault in the system that Microsoft can't process a pre-order without something being downloaded or they did it on purpose to stop some getting confused why they didn't get anything for their pre-order.

I pre-ordered on the 8th November and I downloaded the game and the Assassins Pack in the pre-ordered state immediately.

The answer here is quite simple. The PSN is a pre-order, not a pre-load. On PSN you can only pre-load days before the game is released. On XB1 you can only pre-load/pre-order when there is a game to actually download. Meaning the game has gone "Gold." The
reason we can't pre-download right now is that the game is still not finished. Not ready to be put on discs and not ready to be put up on servers for pre-download. As soon as it is, the pre-load will be available.

Personally I prefer this to PSN's pre-order because at least you know the game is ready when you do it on XB1 but you could shell out that cash for the PSN version and the game and the game might miss it's release date and you have cash in limbo for no reason.
Pre-orders are stupid. XB1's pre-order/pre-loads are a breath of fresh air in an otherwise greedy game economy.

"Pre-order this game now from Gamestop, even though the game has no release date and won't be seen on shelves for over a year." . . . ridiculous.

That was in reference to the new Batman game btw, not GTA V