During Geoff Keighley's Gamescom Opening Night Live 2021, Guerrilla Games delivered an update on the status of its apocalyptic open-world franchise. While Horizon Forbidden West's delay into 2022 was finally made official, the announcement of its new February 18 release date was paired up with a treat that players can enjoy now. Fans of the original Horizon Zero Dawn who have successfully tracked down a PlayStation 5 can now play the game in a smooth 60 FPS thanks to a brand-new patch.
Guerrilla's decision to apply a fresh layer of paint to Horizon Zero Dawn's performance is just the latest in a trend that's taken the gaming industry by storm. Ever since the release of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S last November, a host of older games from the previous generation have received similar patches that boost their frame rates on the new machines. Offering a range of benefits beyond the obvious gameplay ones, this pattern should hopefully continue into the future for some time.
Sony First Party Patches
While there's been little rhyme or reason to the timing of their deliveries, Sony has developed a reputation since the PS5 's launch for pushing 60 FPS performance patches to its older games. Since the current PlayStation generation kicked off, first-party PS4 games like 2016's Ratchet and Clank, the Norse-themed God of War reboot, and The Last of Us 2 are just some of the titles that have received next-gen frame rate boosts. What's most significant about each of these, and true for the entire pattern in a general sense, is that they've all been delivered to players at no additional cost. If someone owns a copy of the game and a PS5 to play it on, they have all of the performance benefits without having to shell out extra money.
Sony has straddled the line between free and paid content when it comes to upgrading older games, with plenty also receiving native PS5 ports that do have extra monetary investment involved. Most of these remasters, like Ghost of Tsushima and Death Stranding: Director's Cut, have come bundled with extra features and DLC that justify the price tags associated with them. With Horizon Zero Dawn unlikely to get any additional expansions thanks to the fact its sequel is about five months away now, it's likely this aspect of the pattern ensures that there won't be a proper remaster of the game for the PS5 anytime soon. Pushing a 60 FPS patch is therefore a solid pro-consumer compromise that brings the game up to modern standards while giving fans something new to enjoy in anticipation of Horizon Forbidden West.
These paid upgrades haven't so far prevented 60 FPS patches from coming to the base versions of these games as well, with Sucker Punch's open-world samurai adventure receiving a free upgrade during the PS5's launch. In general, it seems highly probable that more Director's Cut editions of classic games are on the way, even if the title in question has already been previously patched. Continuing to simultaneously offer both flavors of next-generation support is a pattern that Sony and other developers should continue going forward. Considering the amount of money people are having to shell out for the PS5 in the first place, even before the $70 price tag now attached to first-party software, getting free upgrades for established hits is a great way to incentivize the platform as well.
Microsoft's FPS Boosts
Sony is not the only proponent of the 60 FPS gameplay experience, with Ubisoft's critically acclaimed open-world title Assassin's Creed Odyssey being another example of the performance patch pattern. Across the console divide, the publisher's direct competition has embraced the trend of pushing more games to this standard as well. Since unveiling the Xbox Series X/S systems to the world, Microsoft has been vocal of its support for 60 FPS patches and developed its own performance-boosting initiative to help development teams achieve this same end. Thanks to the scheme, close to a hundred internally developed and third-party games have already been upgraded on the latest Xbox systems.
It has been well documented how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every area of normal life, with games development not being exempt. Microsoft in particular appears to have been affected by the situation based on the technical issues surrounding 343 Industries' Halo Infinite. Frame rate patches that breathe new life into older games can also therefore be a useful tool to combat the large schedule gaps that will likely continue to be an issue. In turn, this hopefully eases the pressure on developers to meet a deadline via crunch, while avoiding the challenging competition associated with a congested release window like the one coming in early 2022.
The Future of the Pattern
As a result of the state of games development right now, and the success that existing patches have achieved on both new consoles, it stands to reason that more games will continue to get the free upgrade treatment in the future. While the consumer benefits from a free pattern like this, there's also a benefit that can be had in terms of gameplay and the overall quality of a game.
To this end, the list of critically and commercially acclaimed titles on the PS4 and Xbox One that were held back by old and limited technology is extensive, given the near decade that both machines have been available for. One example of a game that could greatly benefit from an upgrade is Sony and FromSoftware's beloved Bloodborne. While a remaster would push an already incredible experience to a whole new level, a fix for the game's notorious frame rate issues alone would still be welcomed by fans and simultaneously cement the pattern's overall status.
Horizon Zero Dawn is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5.