Sony’s Horizon Forbidden West prices are a mess, and complaints are pouring in
Horizon Forbidden West. (Sony)
Pre-orders for Horizon Forbidden West are live, but the pricing is a mess.
The sequel to the beloved Horizon Zero Dawn, Forbidden West takes place six months later as heroine Aloy investigates a deadly blight in the uncharted lands of – you guessed it – the west.
At Gamescom, the game’s release date was finally shared: 18 February 2022.
Pre-order details were shared by developer Guerrilla on a PlayStation Blog, with pre-orders live now across the globe.
Five different editions of the game are available, but if you’re looking to upgrade your copy from PS4 to PS5 your options are limited.
“For players looking to have access to both the PS4 & PS5 versions of Horizon Forbidden West, please purchase the Digital Deluxe, Collector’s, or Regalla Editions. Dual entitlement does not apply to the standard and Special Editions,” states the blog post.
That means players looking to play the game on both consoles will need to pay at least $79.99.
By comparison, the standard edition costs $59.99 on PS4 and $69.99 on PS5, while the special edition costs $69.99 on PS4 and $79.99 on PS5.
What’s more, the Digital Deluxe version doesn’t include a disc and instead includes a download code, despite being more expensive. This is to accommodate owners of a digital-only PlayStation 5 console.
People haven’t been slow to share their displeasure on Twitter, with a raft of angry replies to the original Playstation tweet.
One person wrote: “What the f**k is this? You spend 150+ on the collectors edition and don’t even get the disc just a digital code?”
Another added: “Nah. $69.99 is just a stupid price. Until it comes back down to real world prices I will pass. It’s a shame because I love the hell out of Zero Dawn. I got a PS5 just to play games like Forbidden West… But at that price I will easily pass. Haven’t played Ratchet and Clank still.”
By releasing the game across two consoles, Sony has created a wave of confusion that’s somewhat anti-consumer.
While it’s perhaps not unreasonable to assume the newer console would have a more expensive version, some older games offer a free update for PlayStation 5 (or an upgrade at small cost).
There’s no real standard in the upgrade path of PlayStation games – a major issue in the current trend of cross-platform releases.
It doesn’t have to be this way though. With their Smart Delivery service, Xbox allows players to play the best version of a game on whichever console they own and by only paying once.
By contrast, Sony’s system is looking antiquated.
For a full list of Horizon Forbidden West editions and details of extra content, visit the PlayStation Blog.
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