Sony faced backlash from consumers after it was revealed last week (in conjunction with the opening of pre-orders for Horizon Forbidden West) that next-gen upgrades for the game wouldn’t be free.
Originally, to upgrade Horizon Forbidden West from PS4 to PS5, you would have had to purchase the Deluxe Edition at $80 (USD), $10 more than the base game.
Now, Sony is reversing course and is now allowing for free PS4 to PS5 upgrades… but only for Horizon Forbidden West. In the future, Sony has noted that consumers should expect to spend $10 (USD) for PS4 to PS5 upgrades on games like God of War.
Sony Reverses Course on Horizon Forbidden West Upgrade Cost
Over the weekend, Sony appears to have had second thoughts regarding the next-gen upgrade cost for Horizon Forbidden West. After it was revealed that you could only upgrade Horizon Forbidden West through purchase of the Deluxe Edition ($10 more than the base game), people were understandably upset.
Seeing this, Sony shared an announcement noting that this decision has been reversed and next-gen upgrades for Horizon Forbidden West will indeed be available free of charge. As happy as many were to hear this, there was an ominous nugget of information at the bottom of Sony’s announcement.
According to Sony, consumers should expect to spend $10 (USD) moving forward on next-gen upgrades for games like God of War and Gran Turismo 7. For more on this, we’ve included the full statement below as shared today by President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Jim Ryan.
“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.
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.”
It’s hard to say how Sony’s stance on $10 (USD) digital upgrade costs will affect them given that Microsoft has been far more generous with free next-gen upgrades via Smart Delivery.
In fact, this is something we mentioned in our previous coverage of the Horizon Forbidden West upgrade cost, along with the scarcity of PS5 consoles on the market. We’ll keep our eye on the response to the $10 (USD) next-gen upgrade cost for games like God of War in the future, and on whether Sony decides to keep this upgrade fee.
Until then, we’re curious to hear your thoughts on the matter. Are you happy Sony is now offering free next-gen upgrades for Horizon Forbidden West? What about the caveat this announcement comes with where future next-gen titles like God of War will have a $10 (USD) digital upgrade fee?
Let us know on our social media channels including Facebook and Twitter!
Related: Horizon Forbidden West Collector’s Edition & Pre-Order Bonuses Detailed
