The PC version of Horizon Forbidden West, supposedly, will be released in the coming months. The rumor started when Horizon Forbidden West: Complete Edition for PlayStation 5 appeared on IMDA, Singapore’s age rating system, and was quickly removed. Given this, leaker Billbil-kun suggested that this same version, with all the DLCs, would arrive on PC next.
Sony usually holds its exclusive games on PlayStation for 18 months on average, and the release would be within that unofficial window. Horizon Forbidden West was originally released in February 2022, and that period of temporary exclusivity has now passed.
Expanding the installed base
Expanding the main content of games has already become the standard in the gaming industry. An initial launch followed by expansions and additional content guarantees long-term monetization, but also alienates some players who are uncomfortable with this practice.
Some specific games feel like they were released incomplete, apparently on purpose. Thinking about even more extreme cases, such as Asura’s Wrath (2012), or to some extent Mass Effect 3 (2012), some extra content even brings completely different endings to the story.
Naturally, that’s not the case for most, and it’s certainly not the case with Alloy’s latest adventure. Still, already aware of the developers’ stance, some players prefer to wait for these complete versions, with all the content from the beginning, as well as various fixes and optimizations.
In this way, the launch of Horizon Forbidden West: Complete Edition it is the strategy to expand the franchise’s installed base to these players. Furthermore, the movement revives conversations about the game, serving as an advertising campaign for the PC launch.
After the leaks, expectations were created that the official announcement of the new version of Horizon occurred during the State of Play event this Thursday (15), but unfortunately it was not the case. Still, it’s not uncommon for Sony to create mini versions of its broadcasts for releases of this type.