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You Won’t Have to Pay for PS4 Pro Patches for Existing Games

Sony initially said some of the patches would cost money, but now they say that's not the case.

PlayStation 4 Pro Forward Compatibility

As Sony announced on Wednesday, some existing PlayStation 4 games will look better when running on a PlayStation 4 Pro through a process Sony has dubbed “forward compatibility.” That’s of course just buzz-wordy marketing speak translating to “patches,” but today there was some confusion as to whether or not gamers would have to pay for those patches.

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The confusion emanated from an interview with Sony Senior Vice President Masayasu Ito on Japanese site Game Impress Watch. When asked if these forward compatibility patches would cost money, Ito stated that it would depend on the each publisher’s or developer’s whims. When pressed if he was confirming that at least some companies would charge money for these patches, Ito stated “That is correct.”

However, speaking with Kotaku, a Sony representative later confirmed that this was not, in fact, correct. The rep issued the straightforward response that “[Sony] will not charge consumers for patches.”

That itself should close the book on the matter, but a third-party developer also chimed in to corroborate Sony’s statement. “We are not allowed to charge you for patches or pro feature updates,” Absinthe Games Founder and CEO Jack Sipich wrote on NeoGAF.

“The internet can calm down,” Sipich continued. “There is nothing we can do to leverage pro features or patches with price. Nothing.”

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About the author

Nick Santangelo

Nick has been a gamer since the 8-bit days and has been reporting on the games industry since 2011. Don't interrupt him while he's questing through an RPG or desperately clinging to hope against all reason that his Philly sports teams will win something.

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