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Early today Sony opened up preorders for Horizon Forbidden West, the anticipated sequel to Guerrilla Games’ franchise arriving for PS4 and PS5 in February 2022. With it came details on a plethora of editions you can buy, ranging from standard game purchases to expensive and impressive collector’s editions with loads of extra goodies, all of which you can find in our preorder guide for the game. What it also revealed is that Sony is seemingly changing its approach towards PS4-to-PS5 upgrades, and it’s suddenly a lot more expensive, and more confusing, with Horizon Forbidden West.

In the past, Sony has offered a simple avenue for cross-generation upgrades. Although launch games like Spider-Man: Miles Morales offered them for free, games since have allowed PS4 players to pay $10 to upgrade their game to the PS5 version. This was the case up until now, with Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut players on PS4 able to use this method to get the PS5 version of the game when they managed to purchase Sony’s new console. This is also the case for Death Stranding: Director’s Cut coming out this month.

That isn’t the case with Horizon Forbidden West. In fact, there seems to be no current upgrade path at all planned for the game. Instead, Sony is suggesting you make that decision up front. You’ll still have the $60 version for PS4 and $70 version for PS5 to choose from, but you won’t be able to pay the $10 upgrade fee to make the jump after the fact. Instead, Sony says that they only way to get a version of that game that works across both consoles, you’ll need to purchase one of the game’s more premium editions, starting at the $80 Digital Deluxe Edition.

On the PlayStation Support website for the game, it’s plainly spelled out that this is the only currently-planned way for you to get a cross-generation version of the game.

“If you want to have access to both the PS4 and PS5 versions of Horizon Forbidden West, please purchase the Digital Deluxe, Collector’s, or Regalla Editions. Dual entitlement does not apply to the Standard and Special Editions,” the support website reads. “There are no plans for an update offer from standard to digital deluxe edition at this time.”

The FAQ also mentions that the PS4 version will, of course, be playable on PS5, but won’t then be a native PS5 version of the game. That will lock you out of any PS5-specific enhancements to visuals, performance, and more, as is normal with backwards compatibility.

This is a vastly different approach than Sony first messaged, with the PlayStation Blog stating in September of last year that Horizon Forbidden West would be getting a free upgrade similar to those that Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Sackboy: A Big Adventure did at launch.

“Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sackboy A Big Adventure, and Horizon Forbidden West will also launch on PS4,” the PlayStation Blog announced last year. “While these three games were designed to take advantage of PS5 and its unique next-gen features like the ultra-high-speed SSD and DualSense controller, PS4 owners will also be able to enjoy these experiences when they launch. The PS4 digital versions of launch games include a free upgrade on both PS5 consoles, while the PS4 disc versions of these games include a free upgrade on the PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-Ray disc drive.”

Considering that Horizon Forbidden West is the next exclusive Sony is set to publish, this could indicate a change in strategy going forward. It’s a bit alarming too, considering it’s still relatively difficult to purchase a PS5 so many months after launch. Without giving players a means to upgrade today’s purchases further down the line, Sony is forcing you to either wait or pay even more of a premium for that future-proofing.

It’s a far cry from the approach most of the industry has taken, and in stark contrast to Microsoft’s Smart Delivery system on its consoles that ensures all games work across both Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles without any additional fees.

One of the largest changes coming in the second part of Minecraft‘s Caves & Cliffs update impacts both caves and cliffs. The update will include multiple changes to the way the game generates its blocky worlds, shifting mountains even higher into the sky while caves will have brand-new underground biomes. The update itself isn’t out yet, but players can preview some of Minecraft’s new world generation in its latest Snapshot beta.

Included in Minecraft Snapshot 6 are a suite of terrain generation updates, with the first and foremost making mountains generate so they match the surrounding terrain better. The game will now take climate into account when generating its mountains, so in warm climates, players can expect to find snow higher up on a mountain, while others in colder climates will have snow closer to their base.

Caves are also receiving some sizable changes with this Snapshot, although players may not find them too friendly. Ocean floors will now be “cavier,” linking to underground cave systems. Players will now be able to find cave systems by diving to the bottom of the ocean easily, but they may also find that more of the caves they explore are totally flooded. The Snapshot also marks the return of underwater ravines.

These features are currently only available in Minecraft’s latest Snapshot beta. The second part of the Caves & Cliffs update that will introduce new terrain generation into the main version of Minecraft doesn’t have a release date just yet but is scheduled to launch during the holiday season. A full list of the changes in the game’s Snapshot 6 can be found below.

Minecraft Snapshot 6 patch notes

• Tweaked placement of the new mountain biomes so they match the mountain terrain and temperature better. Grove and snowy slopes are less likely to generate on mountain peaks. In cold climates grove and snowy slopes tend to start much lower down, while in temperate and hot climates they tend to start higher up.
• Tweaked biome placement to reduce the risk of cold microbiomes, such as a small splotch of snowy tundra in the middle of a forest (birdpoop microbiomes). It can still happen, but not as often.
• Fixed an accidental change from last snapshot that made lush caves smaller and more fragmented. Now they should be about as common as in snapshot 4 again.
• Giant tree taiga and giant spruce taiga no longer count as cold climates from a biome placement perspective. So these biomes are less likely to mixed in with snowy biomes. This caused a small reshuffle of other biomes to maintain the overall balance.
• Slightly reduced the number of water springs.
• Slightly increased underwater magma, to increase the chance of finding air when diving in aquifers.
• Cavier ocean floors! Aquifers under oceans/rivers are more likely to link to the underground. This means you are more likely to find cave openings on ocean floors that actually lead somewhere instead of being cut off. One consequence of this is that caves at y0-40 below oceans are more likely to be flooded. If you dive into an underground lake you might end up inside one of those flooded caves and pop out at the bottom of an ocean.
• Underwater ravines are back. Cave carvers can now carve through sand and gravel on ocean floors, so underwater ravines and caves will no longer be hidden under a layer of gravel or sand. As opposed to MC 1.17, we no longer use a specific carver for underwater ravines, we just use normal noise caves and carvers but on ocean floors. So the underwater ravines won’t look exactly the same as in 1.17, but we get a lot more natural variation. Magma may still generate inside them, as with all flooded caves.
• Horses, Mules, and Donkeys now follow players holding golden carrots, golden apples, and enchanted golden apples. Makes it easier to get your horse across that deep river! Similarly, llamas follow hay bales.
• That’s all.
• No wait, one more thing. Almost forgot the swamps. Swamps can now generate in dry areas. They couldn’t in last snapshot, which seemed to make sense, but it turned out that sometimes a very small area will be drier than the surrounding area, causing microbiome issues like small spots of desert in the middle of a swamp. Swamps should be less fragmented now, and they appreciate that.

Nexon and developer NAT Games have revealed a first look at the upcoming loot shooter that’s currently titled Project Magnum.

At first glance it appears to be inspired by Destiny, but other than the idea of unlocking powerful new abilities, co-op teams taking on legions of enemies that vaguely resemble the Cabal, and what appears to be an all-powerful giant golf ball in the sky, the game has a number of features to help it stand out.

As a third-person game, Project Magnum is focused on PvE activities, many of which feature gigantic enemies that players will have to work to take down. Another key feature is an energy-based grappling hook that can be used to quickly maneuver around the battlefield when the titanic enemies unleash a barrage of attacks.

Project Magnum also happens to have some impressive visuals, with the PS5 trailer below showing off some detailed environments, particle effects, and a high frame rate for all the action.

Nexon has primarily made a name for itself as a publisher in the South Korean and Japanese markets with a combination of mobile and traditional games, with MapleStory being one of its biggest success stories. NAT Games functions as a subsidiary of Nexon Korea and has worked on Counter-Strike Online and Final Fantasy XIV.