PlayStation Plus monthly game PS5 edition blocked, costs full price to upgrade

By Kes Eylers-Stephenson,

The ever-confusing PS5 upgrade drama continues with a December PlayStation monthly game, Mortal Shell. The version on offer is the PS4 SKU, but there is a PS5 Enhanced Edition. However, there is no easy upgrade path for players.

Mortal Shell is a well-regarded soulsborne action RPG from developer Cold Symmetry. The PS4 version of the game was included in the PlayStation Plus monthly lineup for December. However, despite the existence of the PS5 Enhanced Edition which the PS4 version of the game would normally upgrade to free of charge, that option has been locked for players as confirmed on Twitter (and tested by us). That leaves PS+ players with a £24.99/$29.99 price tag for an upgrade.

While this is not an uncommon practice — GreedFall and Final Fantasy VII Remake did the exact same thing by blocking free PS5 upgrade paths — this one appears to sting a little more for fans because Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition was added to Xbox Game Pass only two weeks ago. In fairness, last month, The Persistence had a free PS5 upgrade unlocked for us, but Firesprite is a PlayStation Studio so that deal is probably much easier than convincing a third party to do so.

What do you think of the news? Should you always get the free upgrade? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by Kes Eylers-Stephenson

Editor Kes is our resident expert in PlayStation and other gaming news. He writes about PS5 exclusives like The Last of Us and Horizon, PS Plus news, and his favorite games — The Witcher, Assassin’s Creed, and God of War — before an evening swim.