Horizon Forbidden West PS5 PlayStation 5 1

Update #2: Sony has reversed its decision to make you buy Horizon Forbidden West again if you want to upgrade from PS4 to PS5.


Update #1: There are no plans for Sony to offer an upgrade from the Standard version of Horizon Forbidden West to its Digital Deluxe Edition. This means, as things stand, if you purchase the Standard or Special Editions of the game on PS4 and want to get the PS5 version at a later date, you'll need to buy the game again.

We've checked in with the manufacturer to see if it will have any discounted upgrade option planned, and will update when we hear back.


Original Article: The obscene nickel-and-diming from PlayStation continues, after last month’s dismally disappointing premium priced Ghost of Tsushima port. Despite insinuating last year that Horizon Forbidden West would offer a free PS4 to PS5 upgrade, Sony’s announced that “dual entitlement” will be reserved to the more expensive Digital Deluxe, Collector’s, or Regalla Editions and not the Standard or Special Editions. If this was EA, the publisher would be dragged through the dirt for this.

We went back to the platform holder’s PS Blog post from last year, where it announced the PS4 versions of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, and Horizon Forbidden West. Here’s what it said: “The PS4 digital versions of launch games include a free upgrade on both PS5 consoles, while the PS4 disc versions of these games include a free upgrade on the PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-Ray disc drive.” So, the “launch games” language is its get out of jail card here.

In an equally bizarre move, the expensive Collector’s and Regalla Editions come with steelbook cases – with no disc inside! That’s right, the manufacturer notes that a “download code for the game will be supplied via a voucher in the box”. Does the organisation not understand that the market for these Collector’s Editions are the very same people who demand physical versions of everything?

We’re currently trying to figure out whether it’ll be possible to purchase a “discounted” upgrade from PS4 to PS5, or if you’ll need to buy the entire game again should you choose to switch platforms at a later date. There will at least be save transfers. Nevertheless, Sony deserves heat for this: we understand that games on the scale of Horizon Forbidden West demand obscene budgets to develop, but other publishers with a lot less money than PlayStation have offered plenty of free upgrades so far – there’s no excuse here.

[source blog.playstation.com, via News: Horizon Forbidden West PS5, PS4 Pre-Orders Live Now, Special Editions Detailed]