Upgrades to the PS5 are chargeable

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The compatibility between titles of the new and the old Playstation will be paid for by Sony in the future. That means the decision for the (future) players.

The manufacturer of the Playstation actually wanted to introduce the new rule with the hit game “Horizon Forbidden West”. None of the nine versions offered a free upgrade from the simple PS4 version to the elaborate PS5 version. The scene protested because this was exactly the kind of upgrade the publisher had promised. The company has now corrected its decision and offers the promised free update for the Horizon sequel. However, it should be the last of its kind.

Jim Ryan personally announced both the correction at Horizon and the general change of course. On the official Playstation blog, the CEO said from Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), the pre-order announcement of “Horizon Forbidden West” was “wrong”. Everyone who bought the PS4 game will in future receive the PS5 version for free. However, the group is changing its strategy: Playstation-exclusive cross-gen titles – i.e. new releases that come out for both consoles – will no longer receive a free upgrade option in the future. Rather, there will be a $ 10 digital conversion option for such titles. Ryan cites the next version of “God of War” and “Gran Turismo 7” as examples. Observers note that older PS4 titles do not seem to receive free upgrades for PS5 owners either. The next-gen update of the Directors Cut of “Ghost of Tsushima” also carried a price tag.

Ryan had dictated something else on the block to the Washington Post last year. You have an upgrade path for PS4 users to get PS5 versions for free, it said. The offer should be limited to cross-generational titles that appear on the next-gen console – such as “Horizon Forbidden West” or “Gran Turismo 7”. Today he defines that statement as follows: “Last year we committed to offering free upgrades for our cross-gen launch titles, which include ‘Horizon Forbidden West’.” So he sees the commitment to 2020 limited to. Since the Horizon successor came out later than announced, the upgrade option was delivered later.

The $ 10 update rule only applies to first-party cross-generational games. Third-party titles such as “Call of Duty” or “Grand Theft Auto” (GTA) do not affect them. Their publishers can continue to offer free upgrades. The scene is wondering about the move as other game distributors are going the opposite way. For example, Microsoft customers can freely switch their games between Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PC without having to pay for them. Anyone who buys titles via Steam will also always receive the versions of the other platforms (PC, Linux, Mac – if available) free of charge. Valve calls this Steam Play.