PlayStation 4 Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition has gotten a price increase ahead of the recently revealed remaster for PlayStation 5 and PC.
The bundled version of Guerrilla's sci-fi RPG has been $20 for several years (thanks, PSPrices), but has now been doubled by $40. The version for PS5 and PC will cost $50 (it original price in 2017) and PS4 owners can upgrade it for $10.
Sony is basically trying to stop gamers from exploiting a loophole and only paying $30 for the new version of Horizon, in turn losing $20 from PS4 owners.
PlayStation 5 games are no stranger strange update structures. Before Forbidden Horizon of the West release, Sony required PlayStation 4 owners to purchase another copy if they wanted it on the PS5, a console that could be difficult to obtain at the moment.
After the backlash, Sony reversed course and made the upgrade path free for all players, regardless of which version they purchased at the time. However, this was a one-off deal: cross-gen first-party titles (like God of war Ragnarok) costs $10 to upgrade from PS4 to PS5.
This method remained valid until the PS5 remaster The Last of Us Part II from the beginning of this year and will remain for any other remasters PlayStation has in development.