The storefront appears to have changed overnight after Eurogamer yesterday asked Sony for comment. To understand this mess, we have to travel back to last year, so strap yourself in. Back in September, Sony made a dramatic U-turn on its decision to charge users to upgrade their PS4 copies of Horizon Forbidden West upon release, after previously stating it would offer free upgrades for its cross-gen launch titles. Sony also confirmed future cross-gen titles, including God of War Ragnarok and Gran Turismo 7 would not offer a free upgrade, but rather charge £10 for the upgrade as planned. While the clarification was welcome news at the time, Sony’s pricing strategy for retail versions of Horizon Forbidden has been anything but clear. Despite the U-turn, Sony didn’t adjust the pricing of the game to match the free upgrade path. This means that right now, you could spend £10 more on a PS5 copy of Horizon Forbidden West if you didn’t know you could redeem and download the PS5 version of the game with a PS4 disc at no extra cost. You might have valid reasons for wanting the PS5 disc copy. Perhaps you don’t have internet access, so a complete copy of the game on a disc is exactly what you need (although you still shouldn’t have to pay more for the luxury). But if you were to buy a digital copy of the game from the PlayStation Store, there is no justification for Sony to charge different prices for these two versions. Fundamentally, data is data, and no matter whether you choose to spend £59.99 or £69.99, you will get the exact same game. So, despite the slight adjustments to the store page, Sony is still hoodwinking consumers who don’t know any better. Even with the change, the page is still unclear. What is the difference between a standard edition with a “Digital upgrade to PS5 version” and a standard edition with “Horizon Forbidden West PS5 & PS4”? It’s also worth nothing PS5 owners can’t purchase the cheaper bundle directly from their consoles, as it’s hidden from the PlayStation Store. Instead, they’ll have to pre-order it from a PS4 or on the web. It is a far cry from the simple upgrade paths used by Microsoft, where there is a single copy of Halo Infinite or Forza Horizon 5, for example, which works whether you have an Xbox One or Xbox Series console. Sony did not respond when asked by Eurogamer for a comment.
