Horizon Forbidden West’s standard PS4 version can’t be upgraded to PS5

Only the $80 Digital Deluxe Edition includes both console versions; “no plans for an update offer”

This article was updated at 7:15pm BST.

PlayStation has confirmed that PS4 owners who purchase the standard edition of Horizon Forbidden West will not be able to upgrade to the new-gen PS5 edition.

Instead, only those who purchase the $80 / £80 Digital Deluxe Edition, or even more expensive physical editions, will be entitled to both PS4 and PS5 versions of the sequel. The standard PS4 version costs $60 / £60 on PS4.

In addition to the Digital Deluxe Version, the $200 Collector’s Edition and $260 Regalla Edition also include both PS4 and PS5 versions of Forbidden West.

“To access both the PS4 and PS5 versions of Horizon Forbidden West, you need to purchase the Digital Deluxe, Collector’s, or Regalla Editions,” Sony said in a statement. “Dual entitlement does not apply to the Standard and Special Editions.”

It added: “There are no plans for an update offer from Standard to Digital Deluxe Edition at this time.”

Thursday’s news seems to contradict a previous statement made by Sony regarding its cross-gen plans for Horizon.

Speaking to The Washington Post last September, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan said regarding Horizon Forbidden West’s PS4 announcement:

“No one should be disappointed. The PS5 versions of those games are built from the ground up to take advantage of the PS5 feature set, and we have an upgrade path for PS4 users to get the PS5 versions for free. It’s about people having choice. I’m really quite pleased about the situation.”

At launch, PS4 owners who purchased cross-gen titles Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Sack Boy: A Big Adventure were able to upgrade to the PS5 version for free.

However, more recently owners of Ghost of Tsushima on PS4 had to pay $29.99 to upgrade to the new PS5 version. However, the Director’s Cut game includes a new expansion not featured in the original.

Pre-orders for Horizon Forbidden West are available now globally. Sony recently confirmed that the game has been delayed to February 2022.

“It’s no surprise that our teams were hugely impacted by the global pandemic,” developer Guerrilla said. “We have been adjusting to new workflows, protocols, and other challenges, while keeping our teams safe and prioritizing a healthy work/life balance.”

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Johnny says:
2nd September 2021 at 11:07 am
So disappointing Sony can’t just follow suit on Microsoft’s consumer friendly Smart Delivery games entitlement.
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1. Fabidini says:
  2nd September 2021 at 12:16 pm
  Atm the internet is crying. I think a lot of people will skip the special edition because just a gamecode is a joke and only good for the digital console (dont know why you want to collect a statue when you dont even collect games with a digital one. On the otherside when you collect games, do you want to buy the game “And” the collectors edition?) But in the end people will buy those standard games anyway. They wont care like you can see with Nintendo and their high price ports. It will work for sony because the game will be great.
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  1. Johnny says:
    2nd September 2021 at 12:34 pm
    The fact that the game might be “great” still doesn’t avoid the fact that Sony is being looked at as another EA/Activision as money hungry with nothing to offer unless a hefty price tag is attached to their products.
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    1. Fabidini says:
      2nd September 2021 at 12:46 pm
      I know it does not avoid the fact but again, look at Nintendo and other companys. In the end their price politics always work. And i think it will sadly work for Sony aswell and people wont care this much. Right now Microsoft is the good guy but after this horrible Xbone gen they also have to deliver. Sony and Nintendo dont cause they were/are market leader.
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2. rogueCortex says:
  2nd September 2021 at 2:16 pm
  It’s frustrating that there isn’t a standardized policy for PS4 –> 5. Some games function exactly like Smart Delivery, others only sort of scale up, and others have a fee. Then there’s this BSery where you just flat out have to buy it again. I don’t mind that Sony doesn’t have a marketing moniker for back compatibility, but they seem to be taking advantage of it to be a little too “flexible” with the feature.
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Johnny says:
2nd September 2021 at 12:31 pm
PlayStation: Double Dipping Awaits!
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Tyler Cobb says:
2nd September 2021 at 12:15 pm
That’s bs. The console is backwards compatible with PS4 games. You should be able to run any PS4 disc on it, ESPECIALLY first party games. Yeah the PS5 has more features that might justify a $10 difference but it’s the exact same game. Just sell it for $70 on each console and quit locking purchases to only work on one machine.
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1. Tyler Cobb says:
  2nd September 2021 at 12:18 pm
  And how exactly does this price tiering incentivize anyone to buy a PS5?
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  1. Johnny says:
    2nd September 2021 at 12:27 pm
    Why incentivize people into buying a PS5 with exactly the same exact game?
    If Sony wanted to truly incentivize they would had kept the game PS5 exclusively as they said a year ago
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    1. Tyler Cobb says:
      2nd September 2021 at 1:43 pm
      What I was saying is that offering the game for $60 on PS4 and $70 on PS5 makes no sense, especially when in theory Sony is trying to move it’s player base into the new gen. Adding this stupid policy of restricted access on top of that makes even less sense. If I didn’t own a PS5 and I wasn’t motivated to get one for the 4k visuals and framerate, I would have absolutely no desire to pick one up anytime this year or next. Exclusives like Returnal or Deathloop are cool and exciting but when the heavy hitters like Horizon and GoW aren’t making the jump then why not just wait? Seems like Sony is doing everything in its power to turn people away from PS5, could be because of the lack of supply but who knows.
      As for Horizon being PS5 exclusive, looking back I forgot that it wasn’t until months later that they actually said it would be on PS4, but I’m pretty sure I’ve also heard that the game started development with the plan to just release on PS4. Which when you think about it is kind of false advertising since it was initially only revealed for PS5. But I guess that just feeds more into the idea that maybe they really do just want to take attention away from the new systems right now until they get their supply sorted.
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Theodore says:
2nd September 2021 at 12:23 pm
Welp was considering a Special Edition but seeing as I prefer physical I’ll pass there loss
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HailHydra says:
2nd September 2021 at 12:29 pm
https://media1.giphy.com/media/TdmTcdoN3egaQ/giphy-downsized-medium.gif
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