Sony U-Turns on Horizon Forbidden West PS4 to PS5 Upgrade U-Turn

Up until earlier this week, Sony had long confirmed that people who purchased Horizon Forbidden West for the PS4 would be offered the ability to upgrade it to the PS5 version for free. The basic premise was that if you hadn’t been able to get their next-gen console, but really want to play it when it comes out in February, that you wouldn’t be effectively forced to buy it twice. – In other words, you could buy it for the PS4, and when you finally manage to snag your PS5, you could then get the next-gen graphical update for free.

A few days ago, however, Sony had confirmed that this well-established position had, apparently due to the title’s delay, now become unviable. As such, owners of the PS4 version of Horizon Forbidden West would have to pay to make the PS5 upgrade. – Following a report via Eurogamer, however, Sony has now decided, literally just days after announcing the u-turn, that it has made yet another u-turn and that the upgrade will now be made available for free… Again.

Sony Confirms Horizon Forbidden West PS5 Upgrade is Free… Again!

So, just to avoid any confusion (given that we’re dealing with backtracks on backtracks, etc.), we can now categorically confirm that if you purchase Horizon Forbidden West on the PS4, you will be able to upgrade it to the PS5 version for free.

Why has Sony decided to backtrack on this decision so soon after breaking its initial promise though? Well, the short version is, the community was angry. Angry and vocal enough to not only make Sony reconsider the decision but to get them to restore the original offer made.

Clarification on Future Titles

In making this announcement, Sony has, quite understandably, now set out a generic position for all of its own first-party titles and specifically how they will transition from the PS4 to the PS5. In a nutshell, it would appear that the generational upgrade will no longer be offered for free again. On the plus side, however, Sony has committed to a $10 upgrade price tag which, in all honestly, isn’t too horrific. Not great, sure. But I think most gaming consumers still desperately trying to get their PS5 will be able to live with this.

Remember though, this only applies to Sony gaming titles. As such, rest assured that companies such as EA will still be more than happy to gouge you for as much as possible to take your existing PS4 game over to the PS5.

Horizon Forbidden West (the highly anticipated sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn) will be released, pending any potential further delays, on February 18th, 2022.

What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!