Posed as the awaited next-gen sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn, Guerilla Games’ upcoming ​​Horizon Forbidden West has certainly done its best to live up to potential, presenting lovely visual overhauls to in-game environments as well as various performance tweaks related to the PS5. With such an emphasis on next-gen, it appears Sony ver nearly gave PS4 owners the cold shoulder and excluded the option to upgrade to PS5. However, it seems Sony has now officially reversed its initial decision and is offering PS4-to-PS5 upgrades for free.

Revealed as an addendum on the PlayStation Blog, Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan confirmed PS5 upgrades for Horizon Forbidden West would now be offered free for PS4 users, saying the original announcement “missed the mark” substantially. “Last year we made a commitment to deliver free upgrades for our cross-gen launch titles, which included Horizon Forbidden West,” Ryan said. “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.”

This response from PlayStation came after pre-orders officially opened for Horizon Forbidden West, revealing a number of release details and leading to a subsequent backlash from fans. While it’s good to see Sony correct their mistake, it’s not difficult to see why the original policy was torn to shreds by the community. As free nor paid next-gen upgrades were available for PS4 players, Sony was essentially pushing players to spring for one of three premium editions (Digital Deluxe, Collector’s, or Regalla Editions), which included both PS4 and PS5 versions of the game.

In addition to reinstituting PlayStation’s free PS4-to-PS5 upgrade policy, Jim Ryan’s statement also went that much further in making sure this backlash doesn’t return. Following the release of Horizon Forbidden West, all upcoming first-party Sony titles, including the next God of War and Gran Turismo 7, were confirmed to carry at least one option for next-gen: a $10 USD upgrade from PS4 to PS5.

“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.”

With this ordeal in the rearview, Sony’s road is seemingly clear ahead of the big PlayStation Showcase scheduled for later this week. As with last year’s version of the event, the 2021 proceedings are teased to be of a particularly exciting variety, as the event boasts a number of reveals highlighting “the future of PS5.” While Horizon’s recent 2022 delay may make an appearance unlikely from the awaited sequel, there’s certainly no shortage of other games rumored for a reveal, including, but not limited to, a certain god of war.

Horizon Forbidden West releases for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on February 18th, 2022.

What do you think? Are you glad to see free next-gen upgrades return for Horizon Forbidden West, or are you waiting for Sony to release the inevitable PC version? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter and Facebook to be informed of the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day! For more Sony headlines recently featured on DFTG, check out these next few news stories:

• New Ghost Of Tsushima Update Makes The Foxes Even More Adorable
• PlayStation Studios Head Teases Major Announcements For Upcoming Showcase
• Abandoned PS5 Title Isn’t Final, But “A Codename”

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