For the last decade or so, PlayStation has managed to stand heads and shoulders above its competition by having a vast library of phenomenal first-party exclusives. And while Xbox managed to carve out its own niche with its Xbox Game Pass service, PlayStation is hot on its tail with its own competitor, PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium. Though PS Plus Extra is still finding its footing, it made an incredibly smart decision adding Horizon Forbidden West to its library just ahead of the release of Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores.
Guerilla Games and Sony have just announced that pre-orders for Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores are now open, and for the surprisingly reasonable price of just $19.99, players can experience the next chapter in Aloy's story, exploring the brand-new location of post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. Though fans were sure to get this DLC no matter what, Sony's decision to put Horizon Forbidden West on PlayStation Plus has primed it for even more success.
Sony Was Smart to Put Horizon Forbidden West on PlayStation Plus
PlayStation Plus' new tiers are finally shaping up to be worthy competitors for Xbox Game Pass. While it may not have quite as many games as Game Pass, and its selection of backwards compatible titles leaves a lot to be desired, PlayStation Plus is definitely getting there, with day-one titles like Stray and the recently released Tchia showing that Sony does care about making the service a consumer-friendly one. Another definite sign that Sony cares about its PS Plus audience is its willingness to add first-party PlayStation titles to the library.
When it launched, PlayStation Plus Extra had just a handful of first-party Sony exclusives, with the standouts being both Marvel's Spider-Man titles, Returnal, and Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut. Over time, Sony has added to this list quite a bit, with the most recent first-party addition being Horizon Forbidden West back in February. For those that didn't pick up Horizon Forbidden West on launch back in February 2022, its newfound place on PS Plus Extra was a welcome sight, with the game's retail price still being fairly high, even in seasonal sales.
Adding Horizon Forbidden West to PlayStation Plus Extra was one of the smartest moves Sony's pulled in recent months. Arriving a year after its release, those who were already Horizon fans will have likely played the sequel multiple times already, but for those that didn't pick it up, they now had no excuse to not give it a go. Though it can't be known for sure, it's very likely that Horizon Forbidden West's place on the PS Plus catalog brought many new fans to the franchise, and potentially brought an array of new subscribers to the service as well. By all accounts this was a great move for all parties involved; the Horizon franchise gained new fans, Sony gained more subscribers, and consumers got a shiny new game for a lot cheaper than it should be.
Sony and Guerilla Games are about to win all over again when Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores releases on April 19. Though exact statistics, again, can't be known, it's extremely likely that those new fans of the Horizon franchise, who jumped on board when it came to PS Plus, are now willing to purchase a DLC for a game that they otherwise wouldn't have before. If Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores wasn't already going to be a sizable success for PlayStation, then it surely will be now.
Horizon Forbidden West is available on PS4 and PS5, and the Burning Shores DLC is scheduled to release on April 19 on PS5.
