Last week, Sony revealed the special editions for Horizon Forbidden West, which included limited options for a free PS4 to PS5 upgrade if you purchased specific editions. Sony has now U-turned on decision and will offer a free PS5 upgrade for all editions of the game, following criticism from gamers.
However, to avoid issues like this in the future, Sony has subsequently announced a $10 upgrade fee that will apply to all future cross-gen games going forward, including God of War: Ragnarok and Gran Turismo 7. This means that Sony will no longer offer free PS5 upgrades for future games.
Jim Ryan, Sony President and CEO, posted the following update on the PlayStation Blog:
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.
Horizon Forbidden West will be releasing on the PS4 and PS5 on 18th February 2022.