PlayStation is doing something unusual: it’s taking one of its older, popular games out of the PlayStation Plus catalogue later this month.
Horizon: Zero Dawn is getting taken off of the service on May 21, which means I’ll need to go update my list of the very best games you can play on PlayStation Plus. While Sony does remove some of its first-party titles from time to time, it’s an unusual occurrence. Another 25 games are also scheduled to leave the service on the same day.
While Sony has not officially announced the game’s removal, its store page currently states that it will leave the service on May 21.
The move is being viewed by some as a potential hint that Sony is planning on releasing a remastered version of the game, as it will be removed just in time for a Summer Showcase event where Sony would likely make the announcement. Sony did something similar when they removed Marvel’s Spider-Man from PS Plus a few months before releasing the remastered version.
A remaster of Horizon: Zero Dawn has been rumoured since 2022 when MP1st published a detailed (which VGC corroborated) article discussing how the remaster is intended to bring the original game more in line with Horizon: Foribidden West. Understandably though, people weren’t very excited by the prospect because Horizon: Zero Dawn isn’t exactly an old game (it came out in 2017) and already looks fantastic. It also got a patch in 2021 adding 60fps when playing on PlayStation 5.
Over the years, more and more reports from reliable sources have corroborated the idea of a remaster, though. And while it’s certainly not solid evidence, Sony opting to remove an older PlayStation exclusive from PS Plus is a strange move unless they have something planned.
