Yesterday’s announcement that Sony has extended the PlayStation 4’s lifespan thanks to the ongoing supply issues facing the PlayStation 5 means we will remain in console transition limbo for a while longer.
Microsoft, meanwhile, has stopped production of new Xbox One consoles, though said back in 2020 that it would continue to support the Xbox One with first-party games for at least two years.
This makes it all the more important that both Sony and Microsoft continue to improve the shaky foundations of their cross-gen upgrade paths, more than a year after PS5 and Xbox Series X/S first arrived.
Away from console manufacturers, third-party publishers are also still releasing games across both generations, and will likely continue to do so for at least another year in order to maximise their customer base.
Back in October, EA announced that owners of Battlefield 2042’s last-gen standard edition would in fact be able to upgrade their copy to current-gen. This was generally welcomed as a positive move.
It meant PS4 and Xbox One players would no longer have to shell out at least £89.99 for the ‘Gold Edition’ to have the privilege of upgrading their game to a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S copy at a future date. Moreover, it meant cross-gen players wouldn’t be forced to purchase a digital copy of the game to upgrade.