Next-gen upgrades have become something of a point of contention. While many consumers will argue that they should be free, some publishers clearly think otherwise. Sony, for instance, will no longer offer free PlayStation 4 to PlayStation 5 upgrades for its first-party games following the release of Horizon Forbidden West. EA also had something similar planned for Battlefield 2042, although the plan has surprisingly changed.
Originally, the next-gen upgrades for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Battlefield 2042 were gated behind the game’s Gold Edition, which retails for $99.99/£89.99. Earlier today, EA U-turned on this decision and has confirmed that the upgrade will now be free for anyone who buys the standard edition, sort of.
The upgrade is most certainly free, but if PlayStation 4 and Xbox One owners wish to take advantage of EA’s dual entitlement scheme, they will need to buy the digital edition of Battlefield 2042. At the time of writing, there is no word on whether this offer extends to physical copies of the game.
Fortunately, anyone who does buy the digital version won’t have to jump through any extra hoops to access the free upgrade. Thanks to the dual entitlement scheme, a purchase of Battlefield 2042 will come with both versions. So, PS4 copies come with the PS5 version and vice-versa, and it’s the same for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S copies.
EA also confirmed that the game will feature cross-progression. This means players can start playing on PS4 and, upon jumping to the PS5 version, can continue where they left off without needing to start over from scratch.
While this is welcome news, those who prefer owning physical copies of their games will no doubt be less than thrilled. Furthermore, there’s not necessarily any guarantee that EA will repeat this with future cross-gen releases. FIFA 22’s dual entitlement, for example, remains locked behind the game’s Ultimate Edition.
These free upgrades seem to vary on a case-by-case basis. Sony may stop offering them soon, but it doesn’t look like it will be enforcing this policy on third-party companies like Ubisoft, which has reassured that Far Cry 6’s next-gen upgrade will be free.
Microsoft, meanwhile, has stood by free next-gen upgrades since day one. One of the Xbox Series X/S’ key selling points is its Smart Delivery feature, where first-party Xbox games include both the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S versions. Since the Xbox Series X/S is still hard to get hold of, this feature has been very handy for Xbox One owners.
Battlefield 2042 releases on November 19th for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: NME
