Recently, Sony detailed the PlayStation 4 (PS4) to PlayStation 5 (PS5) upgrade policy for Horizon: Forbidden West. If you just bought the Standard and Special editions of the game, you weren"t able to upgrade if you got them on PS4 as opposed to PS5. This caused a lot of outrage in the community.
Players who purchase Horizon Forbidden West on PlayStation 4 will be able to upgrade to the PlayStation 5 version for free.
— Wario64 (@Wario64) September 4, 2021
Moving forward, 1st party exclusive cross-gen games will have a $10 upgrade option from PS4 to PS5 (this applies to the next God of War & Gran Turismo 7) https://t.co/SCj9blNQZy
The console manufacturer has now reversed that decision. Now, if you purchase Horizon: Forbidden West, you"ll be able to upgrade from PS4 to PS5 for free. However, the good news doesn"t end there. Going forward, you"ll be able to upgrade from a PS4 version of any Sony first-party exclusive to the PS5 counterpart for $10. You can read the statement issued by the company on the PlayStation Blog below.
Thursday was to be a celebration of Horizon: Forbidden West and the amazing team at Guerrilla working to deliver it on February 18, 2022. However, it’s abundantly clear that the offerings we confirmed in our pre-order kickoff missed the mark. Last year we made a commitment to deliver free upgrades ... which included Horizon: Forbidden West. While the pandemic’s profound impact pushed Forbidden West out of the launch window we initially envisioned, we will stand by our offer: Players who purchase Horizon: Forbidden West on PS4 will be able to upgrade to the PS5 version for free ... I also want to confirm today that moving forward, PlayStation first-party exclusive ... titles ... will offer a $10 ... digital upgrade option from PS4 to PS5. This will apply to the next God of War and Gran Turismo 7, and any other exclusive ... title published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.
It"s great to see that Sony has reversed this decision, but it"s quite curious since the company promised free upgrades last year. This is in contrast to Microsoft"s policy with Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S games. On Xbox platforms, there"s a feature called Smart Delivery that automatically gives you the best version depending on your console. There isn"t a $10 upgrade fee for first-party Microsoft games.
What do you think of the reversal? Will you pick up Horizon: Forbidden West now? Let us know in the comments below.