Sony has announced that those who purchase Horizon Forbidden West on PlayStation 4 will get a free upgrade to the PlayStation 5 version.
Why is this news? Because just a few days ago, Sony said it was going to be charging for the upgrade unless you purchased certain “deluxe” editions of the game. This contradicted the spirit, if not the precise words, of an announcement the company made last year. Now it has backtracked on its backtracking and anyone who purchases Horizon Forbidden West on the PlayStation 4, either digitally or on disc, will get a free PS5 upgrade.
Sony’s original post on the PlayStation Blog has been updated with a statement from Jim Ryan:
“Last year we made a commitment to deliver free upgrades for our cross-gen launch titles, 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 PlayStation 4 will be able to upgrade to the PlayStation 5 version for free.”
The statement went on to say that going forward, all first-party cross-gen titles from Sony can be upgraded to the PS5 version for $10. In other words, Horizon Forbidden West will be the last game from the company to offer dual entitlement. We’re glad Sony has changed its original stance on Horizon Forbidden West, and clarifying its future stance is definitely a good move. But $10 is still not as good a deal as Xbox’s Smart Delivery, which gives access to either the Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S version of a game, depending what console you’re on.
As part of last week’s announcement, Sony disclosed the contents of the extra-fancy Collector’s Edition and Regalla Edition of Horizon Forbidden West. Despite being physical editions and even despite containing a steel case for the game, both are set to come with digital codes for both the PS4 and PS5 versions of the game. We wonder if Sony may also change this to a physical disc now that PS4 versions can be updated for free. Otherwise, there may be some confused shoppers in GAME as to why their expensive edition doesn’t even come with a disc.
But still: it’s good news that PS4 owners will get a free upgrade to PS5, and we’re happy Sony has clarified its position going forward. Horizon Forbidden West will land on the PlayStation 4 and 5 February 18th next year. We’ll let you know about any more welcome, if mildly confusing, changes.
