In late August at Gamescom, developer Guerrilla Games alongside Sony Interactive Entertainment was excited to announce that Horizon Forbidden West will ship later this February for both PlayStation 4 & PlayStation 5. Of course, this does not come at any surprise since the publisher previously pressed the sequel alongside Sackboy: A Big Adventure to be cross-generation releases.
At the same time then, the two companies told that pre-orders for the game is to go live later on the first week of September. As the date arrived, the developer pressed on the many versions available for users to purchase. However, it was then revealed that those who intend to jump for PlayStation 4 to PlayStation 5 cannot do so unless purchasing one of the higher priced options (Digital Deluxe/Collector’s/Regalla Editions).
But on Saturday, Sony Interactive Entertainment went on to reiterate on the blog post to address the current situation following scrutiny from the announcement. In that, Horizon Forbidden West will now be a cost-free upgrade regardless of the pre-order/purchase tier of the game.
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 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.
Jim Ryan, Sony Interactive Entertainment President & CEO
However, this is only a small victory the statement reveals. That is namely due to realization future releases from the PlayStation company will now ask for a $10 upgrade fee for its first-party titles: “I also want to confirm today that moving forward, PlayStation first-party exclusive cross-gen titles (newly releasing on PS4 & PS5)–both digital and physical*–will offer a $10 USD digital upgrade option from PS4 to PS5.
“This will apply to the next God of War and Gran Turismo 7, and any other exclusive cross-gen PS4 & PS5 title published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.” But in honesty, this has already been in practice for other games on PlayStation 5. Earlier on this year, it was revealed that Wreckfest while a free upgrade on Xbox Series systems asks for a $10 fee for those over on PlayStation 5.
As for Sony Interactive Entertainment’s take on the matter, the decision was already proven to be a favorable approach as stated by Ryan previously. Speaking with The Telegraph, Ryan explained the increased price point for quality found nowhere else to be a “straightforward comparison to draw.” You can read the full report by heading here.
Are you satisfied with the updated statement from Sony Interactive Entertainment?
Source: PlayStation Blog
