Control PS5 Upgrade Controversy Worsens as Owners Accidentally Get Free Access to Ultimate Edition

One of the options I said 505 could have taken, but didn't because money and greedy.

God, just when you think this whole slimy situation can't get any worse!

This really is an example of how not to do things. Well done 505 Games and Remedy.

I went with PC in the end. Finishing AWE DLC now - it is pretty good.

If you have it on PS4, Just play it with BC. Not like anyone said back in August 2019 that it was getting a PS5 version, and people can claim it was the reason they bought it.

People do not play games for the most random reasons.

Yep, as a season pass owner I saw this this morning and was momentarily happy until I noticed I change within 10 minutes. Tried downloading from the ultimate edition link, but it just downloaded the basic version again.
Does show that they were trying to ***** the general public, which as we all know is never a good idea.

I’ll play the A.W.E dlc on my PS4 now and get The Witcher to play on the PS5 later.

The might as well not offer any ps5 upgrade. It wouldn't have angered so many people. Glad I steered clear of that game

Scum. Companies lie but 505 has been scummy the whole way through this debacle. I'm very glad Remedy's next game seems to be with Epic Publishing as unless 505 release something amazing I'll be avoiding them with any on the fence purchases after this. Saying you want the money and can't be bothered to upgrade people is one thing, telling people you physically cannot when you clearly can...Utter scum

Oh come on, when the publisher issued the statement about not technically possible to upgrade to next gen console versions who actually believed them?

They were lying through their teeth, it was pretty obvious greedy scummy 505 games were saying that just to milk gamers for even more money. To stop lying scum bag publishers like 505 games from getting away with stuff like this, gamers need to start voting with their wallets. If you really want a game, From any publisher that are anti consumer or greedy scum like 505 just buy it used. That way you get to play the game cheap and the publisher won’t see a cent of your hard earned money. Been doing this for a long time.

Just to clarify something, The Witcher 3 next gen upgrade is free IF you’re not in Japan.
CD PROJEKT RED is offering the upgrade free for everyone except us living in Japan.
Why the discrimination? That’s anyone’s guess. I myself would like to know the reasons very much.

Ah,so the deadly Ninja Assassin "Blockers" were having an extended lunch break or a smoke out the back, 505?!

I was actually the first to notice this last night when I reported on it. It was showing owned for me and then changed to me having to buy it again this morning. I said back when 505 Games gave that statement that it was BS and this just further proves it. What a ***** company.

Bought this game on PC, Non issue with PC Gaming! Have fun!

@Agramonte Wise Decision.

@maruse I've read it's owing to a Japanese law, regarding "Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations", and that CDPR have stated they'll charge as little as possible for it, and donate proceeds to a foundation for handicapped sports players.

https://thewitcher.com/ja/news/32807

@Shillll So a law that forces the very thing it's supposed to protect against?

@Shillll Japan has very weird laws. In this case that law is acting against the very thing is trying to protect.
I also find weird then, that Cyberpunk 2077’s next gen update will be free.
Sometimes I really hate being a gamer in Japan. Between censorship and stupid laws we always get the inferior versions of everything.

I saw this earlier.
I really hope it was the case that 505 had relented and meant to gift previous purchasers with both The Ultimate Edition now and then later the upgrade for the PS5.

As in: that they wanted to at least get some good PR from it, so had some kind of embargo to announce it later, but some chuckle brother hit the upgrade switch early and then reset it afterwards. If that's the case, they're not having much luck no matter what they do.

I wasn't aware that anyone thought it was technical logistics holding them back. Saying you're unable to offer something isn't the same as saying it's technologically impossible. Unless they said something like the latter and I missed it.

I just figured they didn't know who deserved the upgrade most and so just decided no one should get it unless they buy the new deluxe supreme platinum ultimate edition, or whatever it's called.

@Richnj yeah f**k their stupid game

Glad I played this title as a PS Now download.

@maruse Yeah and I hear stuff like you guys have to pay a premium for some steam games, even Japanese made ones, and you have to pay for Japanese audio!

@maruse Wait What Censorship? But I Was Told It's Only The West That Censors Games.

I dont under stand all the people say they are never going to pick a game from 505 game.
Ive had a great past with them in UK/EU back in PS2 Days they published all the Psikoy shooters, Wild arms 4/5, all the different Guilty gear revisions and even Rule Of Rose.

In the modern era theres probable been less sucess but I doubt without 505 Terraria would have got a general retail release.

Fair enough they had a bit of a debacle with the Bloodstained switch port and now Control. But Ill give them benefit of the doubt over Control as if it wasnt for them I would have missed out on so many titles no other publisher were picking up.

We all knew they lied, come on! but still scummy move.
Alot of companies are in the same boat rigjt now it's just how they act on it. See CDProjekt Red they think about us in which case we see it as a present/service and an invitation to play the Witcher 3 again to see how it is on ps5. Huge difference in viewpoints not saying one is wrong and one is right but in the end CDPR will build up goodwill and trust.

I liked Control was planning to play the Foundation and AWE some day when it's on sale but I wasn't planning on playing it on ps5 anyway.

Here we go again with the shady practices

@Areus What censorship? CERO is one of the most strict and obnoxious rating boards in the world, specially for western games.
The Witcher 3 is heavily censored in Japan, from naked scenes to gory scenes. Cyberpunk 2077 is already being censored, though we don't know yet to what extent.
On PC, where CERO has little influence, things are a bit better, but on consoles CERO do as they please.

@TechaNinja Not always, but games here tend to be a bit more expensive than in the West.

It's a simple way to look after fans of the game, I own standard edition and season pass, not likely to purchase the ultimate edition. CD Projekt Red look after their fans and because of that they spend more money with them and good word of mouth goes a long way 👍

@maruse Depends. I've found some good bargains. Trader in Akihabara I bought Days Gone for $30 AUD. At the time the game was still $90-100 AUD.

And I found some switch games that were around $80 AUD for around $50-$60 AUD in Japan.

PSNで友達になりたいですか？

@maruse
If the consoles are region free, would it be an option for you to order games from a different country? Like UK or Germany?

@TechaNinja イイですよ！IDは： Nightlord2005

@BrettAwesome I only buy digital so, it is a hassle to buy stuff from outside Japan.

505 should offers next-gen upgrade for $10 or $20, heck maybe it's $10 for gamers that bought control at $60, and for gamers that bought control at discounted price, the upgrade will cost them $20.

I was tempted to get the ultimate edition last night, decided to sleep on it...glad I did, they can cram it

How can people complain when they're perfectly happy to buy Persona 5 again on the same console?

In the end I bought Ultimate edition on PC this week as have wanted it for the AWE expansion coz I likes me some Alan Wake. The price was far cheaper than the costed Ultimate edition for consoles.

Who cares? It's more work so why shouldn't they make more money, there was no expectations upon release that it would be upgraded to ps5 and now they need to try and target those people who held off, who now have options where Remedy makes no money from used copies or very little from cheap copies, but now they can actually make money by only offering it on complete editions

I wonder what would be reasonable. I think a free upgrade is too much to ask. But for 5 or 10euro when you allready own the game? Isnt that a win win? And you can allways play the PS4 version on the PS5 to get some improved performance if you're not willing to pay.

I preordered the control digital deluxe edition and supported this game from the start as I have with many of remedy’s games. I’m not really happy about what 505 games have done but at the end of the day it’s up to them but I won’t be buying any of their games full price again, I can wait till they are £10-15 as I do with many Bethesda games

Oh the irony of the name of this game....

@maruse I know I'am Simply Bringing Up The Fact That People Seem To Act Like Games Don't Get Censored In Japan.

@Areus Oh! OK, I didn't catch the irony in your original post. I thought you were really asking.

@Areus I think you are confusing a Japanese company willing to censor,with a japanese company forced to censor because of some law.
We all know japanese censorship exist,but that does not change the fact that the west censor things,independent of the censorship laws of there country.
Any way ,this how I see it.

Surely the way to do this is to upgrade people with the season pass but not the base game? Would have pushed people to dlc and complete digital versions of the game rather than publisher putting together another run of discs. I'll either be playing it on ps4 or ps5 on backwards compatibility and if I like Alan wake (bought it for 360), ill probably get that dlc. Its just a bit scummy how it stands to be honest

What? A greedy game company lied in order to get more money out of gullible fans who believed said lie about being unable to upgrade even though they could upgrade older versions, who knew

Ooochie wooochie

Two words for this horrible company

Greedy scum SMDH

This whole episode will be taught in business schools under how not to treat your customers and how to avoid self-made PR disasters.

This is up there with the whole No Man's Sky debacle.

This just confirms what we already knew.

They lied because they want more money.

@lordzand And now they will make less money in the future. Gamers are a fickle bunch. Daft move.

Give a little, gain a lot. Simple.

@ApostateMage Probably has something to do with people's perceptions of the game. I'd imagine gta 5 is gonna be full price again and still sell well next gen (can't believe I even said that, its already been ported yo next gen once).

Yea look I appreciate the gesture of the free upgrade but I won't be mad at most AAA games not getting one. The stipulations are this game but only because I believe they will be able to just port the PC version actually I know they can. Also any remastered game made this generation cause we've already repurchased the game as it is. But demanding a price tag for simply porting a PC version of the game to work for PS5 and Series X is highway robbery and I say enjoy the loss of fans or new players alike. You just shot yourself in the foot but I also want to stress all of you can't expect EVERY game to receive a free upgrade as some will ACTUALLY require effort to do so.

@themightyant it will have opposite effect. I was tempted to buy it and season pass or ultimate edition. This announcement put me off completely. So many games to play I’ll pass on this and many have done the same. It’s not just “the already paid customers” they’ve upset. They’ve alienated lots of potential customers.

Silly really as I’m fair sure they will not sell any extra copies from alienating the existing players.... many will simply go elsewhere and they’ve cut off many new. A simple $5 upgrade would have made them loads - a free upgrade would have immediately boosted sales.

Basic PR.

I played control on ps now so never payed full price for the game I will probably get it on ps5

Glad I just got control on ps now. I didn't really like it anyways and didn't see why everyone was so crazy over it.

I am sure you will be able to play ps4 version on ps5. Everyone else are the greedy ones expecting a better version for free. Its already 4k for ps4 pro/ps5 right? So what if i dont get a updated version.

Very much looking forward to experiencing this game on the PS5, and buying the new edition since I have heard great things about the game. This controversy does not affect me but my condolences to those who are upset about the situation.

It's hard to imagine people being angry about this. Virtually never before has a next gen version of a game been free. You always have to buy them. Hell, even things like Persona 5: The Royal or Dragon Quest XI S on the same console are separate purchases. These companies are here to make money, not just give you what you want for free because it would be nice.

Something being disappointing/expensive doesn't mean it's unreasonable. Of course we would all take games for free if they were offered. Doesn't mean they should be. And comparing CD Projekt Red with 505 is pretty unfair. The Witcher 3 and GOG have been insanely success for them. They went from indie obscurity to AAA developers almost overnight and are rolling in cash. Control was reportedly very expensive to make and massively underperformed. You want more content for it or a sequel? Then buy the upgrade. Or just play the version you have. Why do you need a slightly better looking version of a game you already own and have all the DLC for? It's not like the upgrade even has new content.

And furthermore, when a company says "we're unable to do this at this time" it doesn't mean that it's literally impossible to do from a computing standpoint. Of course that could be done. It means the people in charge said no, so they're unable to. It's exactly the way Sony responds about refunds, or Nintendo or anyone: "Unfortunately, we're unable to offer you a refund at this time". No one in their right mind would think "wow, they just lied, I know that feasibly a computer would be capable of transmitting the information required to reverse this charge, so clearly they're just trying to trick me". The fact that this story even exists is kind of ridiculous.

Some people really love the taste of boot.

Stipud...

UH. DUH.

Remedy is a good developer. They are NOT a good company. They are a bunch of sellouts, and have been for a very long time. I do not buy their games for more than 20 dollars. You can act like 505 is solely responsible all you like. You are wrong. Remedy decided to work with them of their own free will, and probably did it for a monetary reason. So ya know, wake up a little bit.

@Deltath you are the definition of a mindless consumer.

@Pharmboy6 yeah right, because nobody should really expect to get the exact same game they already bought, just running on better hardware because uh... corporatism? The PS4 and Xbox One versions have absolutely god awful framerates, BTW, in case you were wondering, but apparently not optimizing your game engine to run decently is considered standard practice these days. Along with not testing patches before you release them, tossing out battle passes for full priced games, and other incredulous crap that should in no way be considered acceptable business behavior, and most certainly isn't considered acceptable by anyone who actually uses their brain every once in awhile.

@KidBoruto yeah no kidding, Steam completely codified the concept of letting you upgrade the base version of a game you want for a nominal fee through an upgrade right there on the game page,, including whenever that game is on sale, the upgrade also goes on sale. I absolutely guarantee they've made hundreds of millions over the years off of upgrades. But apparently a lot of people can't understand that some companies are simply better at business than others, while not jerking around their customers every chance they get. Which is of course one of the reasons the gaming industry will never be on the same level as other industries like the fast food industry for example. They could be if they used better business models, but they simply refuse.

U do get the exact game you bought...i bought ps4 standard. Mine will be up rendered to ps4 pro 4k standard on the ps5. I just wont get ray tracing and a few download time upgrades u get with ps5 version. I think people have misinterpreted and beleive they wont be able to play there already purchased product on the ps5

Uhh huh.... I don't think you know what a framerate is.

@SidNightwalker Not at all. I'm not going to waste my money buying a useless upgrade. I already got the game for $15.

Silliest thing i ever heard this whole thing. Real anti consumer practices this. Just heard they took back this update it was in everybody's account lol its ok keep it 😂

@Deltath MS have an entire programme around getting free next gen upgrades, and many publishers are also joining in as standard practice as we move to next gen.

This coming off the end of the first truly live generation. Where games can get years of updates and support, including free content and graphical upgrades.

There are plenty of examples of games getting free pro upgrades, and plenty of games offering free next gen upgrades. Those that charge for upgrades are the outliers in this instance.

It hurts early supporters and it actually hurts the company themselves. What's the point of buying at launch if you're just going to have to rebuy an updated version next year.

@Deltath but we are in a generation where rebuying games is all but extinct. That's the point. Save for remasters and this one game, stand alone beefed up versions just don't happen.

"you don't have to buy it" is as insidious as "the game is available for six months, get it before then", or "it's only cosmetics".

The backlash comes from why the thing exists, and how it affects the customer. The bottom line is that this is an anti-consumer tactic, and one that didn't need to happen. Releasing a upgrade for your game ensures a bit of future proofing for your game. It allows you to keep selling it in to the future. Giving it to existing customers for free is a bit of good will towards those that have supported you up until this point. It generates good word of mouth and reinvigorated interest in your game for future sales. The only reason to not offer it to existing customers is an attempt to get some people to double dip, so you can squeeze a few older customers for essentially the same product with a few extra bells and whistles. It's a scummy tactic.

People don't need to buy it, but 505 didn't need to charge existing players for an upgrade, and they also didn't need to lie about it. And you need to ask yourself, between a company doing a scummy business tactic and lying about it, and people being upset about said company doing said tactic and lying about it, why do you feel you need to defend the company?

@Deltath Your Taco Bell analogy is flawed. Control will have the current PS4 version and a new PS5 version. Nothing is being "taken off the menu" with it. Based on the stories we've received regarding this game, players before the word got out were able to get a free upgrade to next gen versions but that quickly got taken down and now 505 games continues to claim they aren't able to do it even though we've witnessed otherwise. And besides, a $3 quesarito made for your consumption is much different than a $40 video game with a season pass.

Your Persona 5 Royal and Dragon Quest examples are also not valid. P5R is an enhanced title that actually adds over 20 hours of new content and plenty of new features. Dragon Quest XI S will also offer additional content and is a lower price point. Control PS4 will have the exact same content as the PS5 game, no exclusive additional content for PS5, and will sell for near retail value even if you already bought the PS4 game and season pass.

505 Games and Remedy will give you an upgrade if you own the recently released "Ultimate Edition" which is the game and season pass. But if you bought the game in 2019 with the season pass or the Deluxe Edition, even though you have the same content as the "Ultimate Edition", you don't get an upgrade. I'm sorry but how can you even justify this?

If Control came out when both the PS5 and PS4 were out there, it would be different. You'd have the option then. The game came out before the PS5 and so people had essentially less options. Turns out, 505 continued to support Control in the midst of the next generation, and so it's only fair that PS4 players can get a free or at least a discounted upgrade. It's literally the exact same game but with graphical fidelity to take advantage of the hardware. Players already bought the game, they shouldn't have to buy the exact same game twice for NEAR FULL PRICE!

@Deltath Not being allowed to and choosing not to are what draw the line and frankly, neither you or I have explicit evidence that would validate either of the two. What we can say though is that if you buy the recently released "Ultimate Edition", you can get a PS5 upgrade. If you bought the normal game or deluxe edition with the season pass (which is the exact same as the "Ultimate Edition") You don't get a PS5 upgrade. Even though you purchased the same content as someone who bought the "Ultimate Edition", you don't get an upgrade. What's the fairness or reasoning behind that? The fact that you try to justify that of all things is mind-blowing. Paying for a PS5 upgrade in of itself is not the big issue. What the issue is is that people who technically already have the content contained in the "Ultimate Edition" will still have to buy that "Ultimate Edition" a second time to get an upgrade. If I bought the game in 2019 and got the season pass, I technically have the "Ultimate Edition". But according to 505 Games and Remedy, I still don't get a PS5 upgrade.

P5R and DQXIS are certainly not worse. We know already that P5R is way more than a rerelease. It adds a whole new game's worth of content plus even more to an already fantastic game and therefore the upgrade is well worth it and is why there was little backlash on the game. Control PS5 is the exact same game. And yeah, people aren't going to buy it but for a very big reason that being the anti-consumer practices 505 Games and Remedy are employing. I can't repeat this enough. Why do only "Ultimate Edition" owners get an upgrade and yet people who own the game and Season pass don't??? "Ultimate Edition" and Game with Season Pass or Deluxe Edition are the exact same! Even a discounted price would be sufficient. I bought Minecraft on my PS3 for $20 and then to my surprise, I was able to purchase both the PS4 and PS Vita version for only $5. Because it's the same game.

It's like if I bought Modern Warfare on my PS4 with the Battle Pass in 2019. Then Activision releases a new "Ultimate Edition" that includes the game and the battle pass in 2020. Turns out, the only way to get a free PS5 upgrade according to them would be to buy this newly released "Ultimate Edition" even though I already own all of the content included in the new bundle. Since I don't have the "Ultimate Edition" of the game, I don't get a free PS5 upgrade. Not even Activision would stoop that low so the fact that this is what 505 Games is doing with their game is just not acceptable.

@Deltath wowsers, you'd make a really good lawyer, trying to call an obvious lie not a lie, when it's unabashedly a lie. Call it whatever you want I guess. Oh, you can call it bending the truth I suppose. Because yes, legally you can be implicant, and you can be leading, and it's not called a lie, technically. Too bad law systems and semantics don't go by the realities of the world eh?

It’s an ugly situation which could have been solved if Remedy’s parent company had just made a consumer-friendly choice. Good faith goes a long way these days with gamers. Just saying

I think it’s important to remember this is most likely not the developers decision it’s a financial one made by 505 games. Greedy and *****? Yes. But let’s blame those who actually deserve it

@JoeyTS activision absolutely would AND have stooped that low. GIven half a chance they’d steal your new born