It say you will get instant items on preorder?!? Well?

[Jojoya]

What I like says might take a few hours to get pre order codes but now been over 13 hours and still no email with codes. Last expansion it only took 2 hours before getting the codes and bought it on first day pre orders started.

Last expansion they weren't requiring the payment method to be charged when the pre-order was placed.

This time they are. I read through the terms of sale notice and it sounded like codes would not be sent until they receive confirmation the payment method was successfully charged. That could take a while depending on the payment method used.

So no 'next week" is not commonly thought of instant. What you are describing is a service delivery issue. The service provider is not able to deliver upon the expected level of service at present. It's NOT the same as your event example because of the advertised level of service in the case for the pre-order. It's on whomever delivers the server to expect a higher volume of orders during this period and adjust OR to not make promises that can't be met during this period. Otherwise it is false advertising, even if it is unintentional.

It's why consumers should read all the fine print before confirming and completing a purchase transaction (especially online). There is no legal standard for instant so the seller is allowed to state their own definition.

I went ahead and brought the terms of sale back up.

https://www.square-enix-games.com/en...and-conditions

4.2. Order Acceptance. After you place an order, the Store will display a confirmation message and you will receive a confirmation email that we have received your offer to purchase; this is an acknowledgement of your order and not an acceptance by us. We only accept your offer, and conclude each contract of sale for the applicable Product(s) in your order, when we have both: (a) dispatched the Product to you, and (b) received payment of the purchase price of the Product by means of the payment method you provided. We may cancel any pending orders (and any portion of an order for more than one Product) for any reason and at any time before our acceptance if we have not yet shipped the Product(s) to you. We may also require additional information from you before accepting your order. If we accept your order, we may email you a purchase confirmation notice providing relevant details on the purchase and a binding contract will form between you and us. If we are unable to accept your order because a Product is not available, we may notify you when it becomes available again (subject to your consent).

and

6.1. Dispatch. We will only dispatch Products once we have received payment in full for the relevant Products in orders accepted by us. For digital Products, you will receive a link in the purchase confirmation email directing you to the Product’s key and allowing you to unlock and download your digital Product.

So they will provide the code to you immediately upon receiving payment in full. That is not considered unreasonable by any legal standards as far as I'm aware.

So the best thing to do is check your payment method and see if it's been charged yet if you still have not received your code.