Horizon Forbidden West Is Making PS5 Upgrades More Expensive And More Complicated

Update: Sony has updated its policy on the Horizon Forbidden West PS5 upgrades. All PS4 customers will now get the PS5 upgrade for free, while all future cross-generation titles such as Gran Turismo 7 and the new God of War will feature $10 PS4-to-PS5 upgrades. Original story follows.

Early today Sony opened up preorders for Horizon Forbidden West, the anticipated sequel to Guerrilla Games' franchise arriving for PS4 and PS5 in February 2022. With it came details on a plethora of editions you can buy, ranging from standard game purchases to expensive and impressive collector's editions with loads of extra goodies, all of which you can find in our preorder guide for the game. What it also revealed is that Sony is seemingly changing its approach towards PS4-to-PS5 upgrades, and it's suddenly a lot more expensive, and more confusing, with Horizon Forbidden West.

In the past, Sony has offered a simple avenue for cross-generation upgrades. Although launch games like Spider-Man: Miles Morales offered them for free, games since have allowed PS4 players to pay $10 to upgrade their game to the PS5 version. This was the case up until now, with Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut players on PS4 able to use this method to get the PS5 version of the game when they managed to purchase Sony's new console. This is also the case for Death Stranding: Director's Cut coming out this month.

That isn't the case with Horizon Forbidden West. In fact, there seems to be no current upgrade path at all planned for the game. Instead, Sony is suggesting you make that decision up front. You'll still have the $60 version for PS4 and $70 version for PS5 to choose from, but you won't be able to pay the $10 upgrade fee to make the jump after the fact. Instead, Sony says that they only way to get a version of that game that works across both consoles, you'll need to purchase one of the game's more premium editions, starting at the $80 Digital Deluxe Edition.

On the PlayStation Support website for the game, it's plainly spelled out that this is the only currently-planned way for you to get a cross-generation version of the game.

"If you want to have access to both the PS4 and PS5 versions of Horizon Forbidden West, please purchase the Digital Deluxe, Collector’s, or Regalla Editions. Dual entitlement does not apply to the Standard and Special Editions," the support website reads. "There are no plans for an update offer from standard to digital deluxe edition at this time."

The FAQ also mentions that the PS4 version will, of course, be playable on PS5, but won't then be a native PS5 version of the game. That will lock you out of any PS5-specific enhancements to visuals, performance, and more, as is normal with backwards compatibility.

This is a vastly different approach than Sony first messaged, with the PlayStation Blog stating in September of last year that Horizon Forbidden West would be getting a free upgrade similar to those that Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Sackboy: A Big Adventure did at launch.

"Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sackboy A Big Adventure, and Horizon Forbidden West will also launch on PS4," the PlayStation Blog announced last year. "While these three games were designed to take advantage of PS5 and its unique next-gen features like the ultra-high-speed SSD and DualSense controller, PS4 owners will also be able to enjoy these experiences when they launch. 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."

Considering that Horizon Forbidden West is the next exclusive Sony is set to publish, this could indicate a change in strategy going forward. It's a bit alarming too, considering it's still relatively difficult to purchase a PS5 so many months after launch. Without giving players a means to upgrade today's purchases further down the line, Sony is forcing you to either wait or pay even more of a premium for that future-proofing.

It's a far cry from the approach most of the industry has taken, and in stark contrast to Microsoft's Smart Delivery system on its consoles that ensures all games work across both Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles without any additional fees.