The PlayStation 5 is set to release on November 12th, 2020 and pre-orders have been flying off the digital shelves as they’re coming available. Though Sony’s been a lot more vague about backward compatibility, the PS5’s UI, and more, they’ve managed to let consumers know that many of the titles releasing on PlayStation 4 this Fall will be offering free next-gen upgrades to PS5 at no additional cost.
It can become confusing trying to understand which games you should purchase now and which you should wait for, but here’s a list of 10 games getting next-gen upgrades.
10 Control
Remedy Entertainment is a quirky and beloved developer who has landed in a bit of hot water thanks to how the publisher of Control is handling next-gen upgrades. Unlike other titles that will see free upgrades to the PlayStation 5, Control will require the purchase of Control: Ultimate Edition, which includes the base game and all of its DLC.
Owners who already purchased the base game and all of its DLC won’t be gifted the upgrade for free and will instead have to double down on their investment into a game they adored.
9 Marvel’s Spider-Man
PlayStation has been rather confusing when messaging how backward compatibility will roll out on the PlayStation 5. A recent red flag regarding this is that the next-gen version of Marvel’s Spider-Man will be locked to a $70 version of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and owners of the original game will not receive a free upgrade.
If you end up purchasing Miles Morales on PlayStation 4, you’ll only have to pay the $20 difference to unlock it when you finally decide to jump in on the PS5.
8 Borderlands 3
Borderlands 3 seems to have suffered from Fallout 4 syndrome in which the latest release in the franchise was great but didn’t feel like enough of an evolution on the series’ standard formula.
The game has seen tremendous post-launch support by the developers and is adding new content all the time for players. Owners of the PlayStation 4 version will be able to upgrade to the PlayStation 5 version at no additional cost and will carry over all of your saves and additional purchases you made in the game.
7 Little Nightmares 2
Little Nightmares 2 is the direct sequel to the platforming horror indie title that gamers from around the world fell in love with. The game features a pseudo-claymation style that manages to flesh out one of the creepiest worlds in entertainment.
It will release in February of 2021 on current-gen consoles and PC but will gift owners of that version a free copy of the next-gen version when it becomes available on the PlayStation 5 later in 2021. A great move to build goodwill by a promising indie developer.
6 Fortnite
Currently, it’s trendy to hate on Fortnite, a massively successful game catered to serve the interests of a younger demographic. Despite what people might think about it, it is still wildly popular and makes money hand over fist for Epic Games.
They’ve already announced that the next-gen version of the game will be available on launch day for the PlayStation 5. It’s hard to imagine how much of a difference the game will see on the new hardware, but the game’s free-to-play to it’s not like there’s a big investment on the user side of things.
5 FIFA 21
Outside of the United States soccer is considered to be the holy grail of sports. Madden sells well in the states, but FIFA is a game that sells like crazy around the globe for Electronic Arts.
Those who hopped in on PlayStation 4 will only need to secure a PlayStation 5 before the release of FIFA 22 in 2021 to receive the free next-gen upgrade for FIFA 21. It’s still unclear if your save data and Ultimate Team card collections will transfer over, but the assumption is that the transition will be seamless.
4 Rainbox Six: Siege
If you were unfamiliar with the launch of Rainbow Six: Siege then you’d assume it was always a multiplayer juggernaut, but that wasn’t always the case. After numerous updates and a great effort to make the game something special, Ubisoft doesn’t want to lose the player base it fought so hard to keep. That’s why owners of the game will be receiving the next-gen version of the game at no additional cost on PlayStation 5. Remember that, despite all of the assumptions, this game still isn’t free-to-play.
3 Madden 21
The NFL is the most dominant professional sports league in the United States, and having Madden 21 available at the launch of a new console seems almost mandatory at this point. For those who decided to hop in at its release, they will be happy to know that if you purchase a PlayStation 5 before the release of Madden 22, they’ll be able to upgrade for free.
On top of improved visual fidelity players can expect faster load times and generally just a better and much faster experience in general. It’s still unclear what save data transfers over, though.
2 Marvel’s Avengers
Whether you consider Marvel’s Avengers to be a six-out-of-ten, a nine-out-of-ten, or something in-between, it’s hard to deny that it needs the next-gen upgrade as soon as possible. The game has a lot of moving parts and when there are dozens of actions and animations happening moments between each other the game starts to chug. On top of this, it is filled with numerous bugs and glitches that could be ironed out.
It’s looking to be one of the main multiplayer gaming pillars moving into next-gen, and its great that PlayStation 4 owners will receive a free upgrade to the PlayStation 5 version.
1 Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla may have shifted its release date to release alongside the Xbox Series X, but that doesn’t mean PlayStation gamers are losing out on the ability to upgrade the game for free to its next-gen version.
The Assassin’s Creed series is known for large-scale open-world experiences that put a strain on the hardware. It feels like a title that can make the most out of the additional power provided by the PlayStation 5, and it will certainly show off how much better load times will be on next-gen hardware.
NEXT: The 10 Most Exciting PS5 Launch Titles, Ranked
