Sony confirmed that upgrading its PlayStation 4 first-party titles to PS5 will start coming with a $10 fee.
The company announced last week on its PlayStation blog that anyone who purchases standard and Special Editions of the upcoming Horizon Forbidden West, which is slated for a Feb. 18, 2022 release, will be charged to upgrade to its next-gen console. However, Sony walked back the decision following widespread criticism, citing the pandemic’s impact on developers who were forced to delay the game past its launch window.
While the company chose to honor its promise with Horizon Forbidden West, Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan used this circumstance to establish a new norm for first-party, cross-gen titles.
“I also want to confirm today that 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,” Ryan said. “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.”
PS4 titles under the PlayStation Studios banner can still be played on the PlayStation 5 due to its backwards compatibility. Microsoft, meanwhile, has built-in Smart Delivery technology on its Xbox Series X/S, which gives users access to the best version of a game that carries this feature, regardless of the hardware.
