Frontier Developments have confirmed that those picking up Planet Coaster: Console Edition for PS4 or Xbox One will be able to upgrade to the next-gen versions of the game for free. The game doesn’t have a firm release date yet, but will be available on consoles by the end of the year.
Those who purchase the physical edition of the game will need a PS5 with a disc drive to make use of the free upgrades, as the disc will be required to download and authenticate the PS5 version.
You can only upgrade from a physical current gen copy to a digital next-gen copy if you have a next-gen console that you are able to insert a disc into. When you do, you will be able to download your next-gen edition, but will still require the disc to authenticate and play.
Source: Frontier Forums
The news was revealed in the game’s latest Dev Diary (below), which also mentions a TV-friendly UI and keyboard & mouse support for consoles.
Although PS4 owners will get a free upgrade to the PS5 version, the progress will NOT transfer over. Players will be able to take their creations to the next-gen version by uploading them to the Frontier Workshop and then downloading them again in their next-gen park. On the Xbox Series X | S, this won’t be an issue as all progress can be carried over.