After the debacle that was Destiny 2, which I pre-ordered for $100 (which was a lot back then), I swore off ever pre-ordering games ever again. However Starfield is out soon, and I have been dying to play it it’s the whole reason I bought my Series X. So, do I preorder it?
Physical: Only something with limited availability. Basically collector’s editions of stuff. Even then, you are paying a premium for an art book and some odds and ends. I have a friend that preorders all the FFXIV expansion collector’s editions, which is a faily safe bet because they already know they like the base game. Personally these are never worth it for me.
Digital: Never. There’s the whole crowdfunding-for-indie-games argument (which starfield is decidely not), but that is totally different discsussion in my opinion.
In the event there is some kind of digital preorder bonus that you actually want, you can always wait to an hour before release to “preorder”, after reviews have already circulated.