In an anti-consumer move, PlayStation is not letting players pre-load Horizon Forbidden West PS4-to-PS5 free upgrade

Horizon Forbidden West will be another major gaming addition to 2022, and there will be no shortage of new players despite the game being a PlayStation exclusive.

The sequel to the much-loved Horizon Zero Dawn will look to build on the first game's success. Based on the initial reviews and Metacritic scores, the upcoming release contains all the formulas that made the first game a hit. While many games in modern times are being made for next-generation consoles, Horizon Forbidden West will be released on both PS4 and PS5.

There is an option for a free upgrade from the PS4 to the PS5 version to make it cheaper for players. This helps save $10 for gamers, but there are some complexities related to the free upgrade. Also, as the time for launch nears, another bit of new information has come out.

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Horizon Forbidden West free PS5 upgrade comes with a caveat

Before going into the finer details, it must be noted that Sony has already assured players of a free upgrade to the next-gen console, but it can be availed only through the website. However, with the release close and the pre-load period having started, there seems to have been some interesting discoveries made by players.

Even if a player avails of the free upgrades and saves $10, they can only download a PS4 version of the game. Furthermore, the PS5 upgrade can only be availed when the game releases worldwide on February 18.

This has been a dampening situation for many players who weren't aware of the situation beforehand. This essentially means that those who have opted for the upgrade will have to sacrifice a few hours post the launch to download and install the game on their consoles. It could also be a potential problem for those with a daily cap on their internet connections.

There was confusion about whether the upgraded PS5 version will have a pre-load. However, Sony has already confirmed from their official channels the need to wait for the game to be released. What it also means is the fact that the PS5 upgrade will be completely separate. So players who have opted for the free upgrade will not only have to invest their time but their gigabytes of data as well.

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Is Sony's move of not letting players pre-load Horizon Forbidden West upgraded PS5 version anti-consumer in nature?

In one word, yes. If players still remember, Sony had initially decided to charge $10 for an upgrade, but they decided to back down after facing a consumer backlash. So right now, there are two available options for players - get the PS4 version of Forbidden Horizon West on a browser and upgrade to PS5 or spend $10 more and get the PS5 version directly.

There is no difference between the products involved, yet Sony seems to have deliberately pushed a differentiator. Players can either choose to pay $10 more for ease of life. Or, they will have to go the cost-effective way but wait for extra time. But, of course, this extra wait time should never be the case when the player has already decided on the version they have got.

In comparison, Xbox's Smart Delivery automatically chooses the best available version for a person's system and installs it. As a result, there's no differentiation between things like pre-loads, and it should be the same for Horizon Forbidden West.

But it now appears that Sony has somehow found a way to get 'even' with its Horizon Forbidden West playerbase. PlayStation 5 players will now have to pay more for the same game if they want something as basic as a pre-load. This, in fact, goes against the very ethos of consoles and their plug-and-play nature.