Horizon Zero Dawn No Longer Available on Epic Games Store

Sony has officially removed Horizon Zero Dawn from the Epic Games Store, meaning that the beloved action-adventure title from 2017 is no longer available for purchase on that platform. While this may seem like a puzzling move, it is likely a strategic decision to pave the way for the upcoming remaster, set to launch on October 31.

Following a leak regarding the game’s age rating by the ESRB, Guerrilla Games and Sony confirmed the remaster’s existence during a State of Play event. Guerrilla's Studio Director mentioned that the remastered version will incorporate "a host" of technological advancements, visual upgrades, and enhanced features.

The goal of the remaster is to align the original 2017 game with its sequel, Horizon Forbidden West. This includes ten hours of re-recorded dialogue, numerous graphical enhancements, upgraded character models, and much more.

In a somewhat controversial move, Sony increased the price of Horizon Zero Dawn following the announcement of the remaster. Existing players can upgrade to the remastered version for $9.99, while newcomers will need to purchase it at a price of $49.99. To discourage potential buyers from acquiring the original game and later upgrading, Sony has taken the step to delist Horizon Zero Dawn from the Epic Games Store.

Now, when users visit the game’s store page, they find it simply marked as unavailable. According to PCGamesN, Horizon Zero Dawn has been delisted for about a week at the time of this writing.

Horizon Zero Dawn Availability on Other Platforms

While Horizon Zero Dawn can still be purchased on Steam, it is currently priced the same as the upcoming remaster, making future upgrades more costly for players. It remains uncertain whether Sony plans to remove the title from other storefronts, such as Steam and GOG. The first game in the Horizon series made its PC debut in 2020, offering higher framerates than its PlayStation 4 version but lacking significant graphical enhancements.

The sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, was released on PC earlier this year after launching on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in 2022. Both games have received positive feedback from players, although some of Sony's other PC ports have faced criticism from the community.

After Helldivers 2 sparked controversy in May, several of PlayStation's recent PC releases, including God of War: Ragnarok and Ghost of Tsushima, required users to link their Steam accounts with their PlayStation Network accounts. Although Sony reversed this requirement for Helldivers 2, the company continues to face backlash for this policy with each new release.