Following multiple negative opinions, articles and reactions to Horizon Forbidden West‘s upgrade path, Sony has backed off and issued a statement going forward.
The update to the original Horizon Forbidden West PlayStation Blog post reads as follows:
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.
*To upgrade an eligible PS4 game on disc to the digital PS5 version, you will need a PS5 console with a disc drive. PS4 game discs can’t be used with the PlayStation®5 Digital Edition.
Jim Ryan, President & CEO, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s update to the Blog Post
While this isn’t the ideal situation, it is good to see Sony take a step back and offer a clear pricing direction going forward.
