Sony u-turns on Horizon cross-gen plans after backlash, says free PS5 upgrades will now be offered

Sony has eventually made good on its pledge to enable free Horizon Forbidden West upgrades between PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles after initially trying to backtrack.

In a blog posted on September 4, the company explained that anybody looking to access both the PS4 and PS5 versions of the title would need to purchase one of the more expensive "Digital Deluxe, Collector's, or Regalla Editions," and noted that dual entitlement wouldn't apply to standard and special editions of the game.

The news raised eyebrows given Sony Interactive CEO Jim Ryan had last year indicated the company had an "upgrade path for PS4 users to get the PS5 versions for free," and spent a fair amount of time explaining how the PS5 version of Forbidden West had been tailor-made for the more powerful console.

Not long after making that initial announcement, Sony updated the blog post with a new statement from Ryan admitting the console maker had "missed the mark." The chief exec added the company would be honoring its commitment to delivering free upgrades to all Forbidden West players, irrespective of which version they purchase.

Curiously, Ryan suggested the initial u-turn was a result of Forbidden West being pushed out of the PlayStation 5 launch window due to production delays, and indicated the company had only ever committed to enabling free upgrades across its cross-generation launch roster.

"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," wrote Ryan.

"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."

Ryan added that, moving forward, PlayStation first-party exclusive cross-get titles will offer a $10 upgrade option between PS4 and PS5, and confirmed that paid pathway will apply to the upcoming God of War sequel and Gran Turismo 7