The average console generation cycle has stayed pretty much the same for the last two decades, with about eight years coming between each new console generation. While Nintendo is a bit of a wildcard, both PlayStation and Xbox have stuck to this since the early 2000s. Over the years, the clear-cut line between console generations has gotten much blurrier, with cross-generation games now being the norm for at least a year or two after a new console's launch. It's now been two years since the PS5 first launched, and developers like Horizon Forbidden West's Guerrilla Games are starting to cut off the previous generation, even despite past claims.

Though the technological gap between console generations is not nearly as monumental as it used to be, there still comes a time in a console's generation cycle when developers need to focus solely on the new technology, and ensure that they're pushing it to its maximum potential. That time has apparently come for Guerrilla Games, which has decided to release Horizon Forbidden West's upcoming Burning Shores DLC solely for PlayStation 5 in a move that goes against the developer's previous statements.

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Horizon Burning Shores' PS5 Exclusivity Contradicts Guerrilla's Past Messaging

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All the way back in June 2021, Guerrilla Games' Mathijs de Jonge was interviewed by the outlet Hardware Zone. During the interview, Jonge was asked about creating cross-generation games, and whether Horizon Forbidden West would suffer from being on both the PS4 and PS5. Jonge responded with, "I don’t think the cross-generation development was limiting in any way," and went on to say that Guerrilla Games never really thought about hardware limitations when creating the game; it simply wanted to create another fun adventure in the Horizon universe.

Flash forward a year and a half, and Guerrilla Games has just announced an upcoming DLC for Horizon Forbidden West. At the end of the announcement trailer, which debuted at the Game Awards, it was revealed that Horizon Forbidden West's Burning Shores DLC would not be coming to PS4, and would be exclusive to those who owned the game on PlayStation 5. It seems like there's been a bit of a shift in mentality over at Guerilla Games.

The most likely scenario here is that Guerrilla Games genuinely wasn't hampered by cross-generation limitations when creating Horizon Forbidden West, as it actually ran surprisingly well on even a base PS4, but now the developer is looking to push its engine to its limit, and deliver a more expansive experience that just simply can't be done with the PS4's outdated tech. Though this news is sure to be disappointing for Horizon fans who can't afford a next-gen console, it might be better for the franchise as a whole, allowing Guerrilla Games to flex its muscles and start producing even more complex mechanics and designs that make full use of the PS5's hardware.

Guerrilla Games is just the latest example of a growing trend in the industry. Earlier this year, Gotham Knights had to cancel its past-gen versions, and Marvel's Midnight Suns had to delay its Xbox One and PS4 iterations. The same has just happened for Hogwarts Legacy, which has delayed its past-gen ports to April. At the Game Awards 2022, Respawn Entertainment unveiled Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and it was revealed that it was only coming to PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S. It seems as though the industry has finally hit the point in the console generation cycle when developers start leaving the past generation behind, and start pushing the current consoles to their max. Though the pattern can be bad for some consumers, it's often resulted in some excellent gaming experiences.

Horizon Forbidden West is available now for PS4 and PS5.

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