PlayStation Plus Extra subscribers can access a ton of games with their membership, from contemporary hits such as Death Stranding, The Witcher 3 and Demon’s Souls, to cult classics like Gravity Rush 2, Nier Replicant and Rez Infinite. While around a dozen new games are added every month, Sony removes a similar number of titles once partnership deals expire. While this system makes sense for third-party games, I always found it odd when Sony removed first-party PlayStation exclusives from its own service. Indeed, without any explanation whatsoever, Sony removed Horizon Zero Dawn from the PS Plus Extra library in May, followed by sequel Horizon Forbidden West in September. However, if the latest rumours are to be believed, at least we now know why Sony may have removed the former.
According to a listing discovered on the Entertainment Ratings Software Board website (ESRB), Sony is about to release a remastered version of Horizon Zero Dawn for PS5.
While the rating doesn’t list any of the technical changes made to the blockbuster PlayStation game, it does appear to confirm that a release is imminent.
The PS5 version of the hugely popular PlayStation 4 and PC game would likely feature upgraded visuals, improved ray-tracing, a performance boost and DualSense support.
Needless to say, if Sony is planning to make money from the new and improved version of Horizon Zero Dawn, it makes sense why the game and its sequel would be removed from PS Plus Extra.
Of course, there’s always a chance Sony will bring the game back to PS Plus once the remaster makes its debut on PS5, although we can’t see this happening for at least the next six months or so.
Whatever happens, we should find out more when Sony holds its rumoured State of Play event on September 24.
The rumoured event is expected to further showcase some of the ways the PS5 Pro will benefit existing PlayStation 4 and 5 games, and will also feature a number of new reveals.
This includes the aforementioned Horizon Zero Dawn remaster, as well as an upgraded version of Days Gone.
A Days Gone re-release with improved visuals, smoother performance, DualSense support and even more zombies onscreen at once could actually be pretty decent.
Fingers crossed we get that Bloodborne remaster/remake we’ve all been praying for, as well.
Based on Sony’s TGS line-up, the State of Play broadcast will also feature new gameplay footage for Death Stranding 2, as well as Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Silent Hill 2 and Sonic X Shadow Generations.