No free PS5 upgrades for owners of Spider-Man on PS4
Owners of the base PS4 version of Spider-Man will have to pay up if they want to get the remaster on PS5.
Sony has clarified that there is no upgrade path for existing owners of Spider-Man on PS4 to get the upcoming PS5 remaster. The writing has been on the wall since developer Insomniac Games confirmed that saves won't transfer between the two.
While the PS4 version will be playable on PS5 through backwards compatibility, as with thousands of other games, the remaster is a different story. It will not be available for purchase separately, and is only included as part of the Miles Morales Ultimate Edition.
The only way for PS4 owners to get the remaster on PS5 is to buy Miles Morales. Buying the game's base version will allow them to pay $20 on top to unlock the remaster on PS5, and buying the Miles Morales Ultimate Edition will offer the same benefits.
If you're only interested in Miles Morales, your PS4 version will include the PS5 version at no additional cost.
Here's what Sony told Kotaku:
"Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered is an enhanced version of Marvel’s Spider-Man, and is included as part of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition for the PlayStation 5. In addition, players who purchase Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales on PlayStation 4 can upgrade at no additional cost to the PS5 version of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and can take advantage of a paid-upgrade to download Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered.
"There are no plans currently to offer Marvel’s-Spider-Man: Remastered as a standalone. Players with a copy of Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4 can purchase Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition to experience Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered on PS5. Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4 also will be backwards compatible on PS5."
At a time when Microsoft is adding value to existing first-party games through free upgrades to Gears 5, Forza Horizon 4 and others on Xbox Series X/S, Sony remains committed to the old way of doing business.
It's especially bizarre here, too, since the company is willing to offer a free upgrade for Miles Morales, but not the base game. Perhaps having been released two years ago creates enough distance to where charging for an upgrade makes sense.