Horizon Forbidden West DLC skipping PS4 due to developer's "grand vision"

Horizon Forbidden West
(Image credit: Guerrilla Games)

Horizon Forbidden West's Burning Shores DLC will only be available for PS5 users, due to Guerrilla's "grand vision."

Yesterday on December 8, the long-rumored Horizon Forbidden West DLC was finally unveiled at The Game Awards in LA. One detail that might've flown under the radar was the fact that the Burning Shores expansion will only be available for the base game on PS5 consoles.

"Our creative vision for the Burning Shores is an ambitious expansion which will take Aloy to the ruins of Los Angeles," Guerrilla wrote in a website post after the showcase. "It's an overgrown and fractured city that can be fully explored via the water and flying on the back of a Sunwing. A massive machine threat lurks in its shadows – a huge challenge that Aloy must overcome by using all of her skills and abilities."

"To achieve this grand vision technically and creatively, we’ve made the difficult decision to focus all our efforts on making an incredible experience exclusively for the PlayStation®5 console," the developer concluded. It certainly seems as though the technical ambitions of Guerrilla's sequel have finally caught up with it, as the base game launched across PS5 and PS4 consoles.

This will no doubt come as a disappointment to PS4 players of Horizon Forbidden West. Considering the game was long billed as a cross-generation launch for PlayStation consoles, there are some that will have naturally assumed that any post-launch DLC would also receive the same treatment and arrive on both PS5 and PS4 consoles.

What we do know of Aloy's new adventure is that it'll be heading to brand new territory in California on April 19, 2023. Horizon Forbidden West might've already headed across America to locations like Las Vegas, but this time we're headed to LA, complete with towering new treats, as we saw in the announcement trailer for the Burning Shores DLC at The Game Awards last night. 

Check out our full upcoming PS5 games guide for a complete look over all the other games and DLC we can expect for Sony's new-gen console in the future. 

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.