PS5 game upgrade frustrates fans — and Xbox Series X is laughing

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Xbox champions Smart Delivery for free console upgrades, while poking fun at the PS5's approach

PS5 Spider-Man Miles Morales
(Image credit: Sony)

Xbox UK has seemingly poked fun at the news that Sony will charge people to pay extra to play Marvel's Spider-Man: Remastered on the PS5, even if they own the original game on PS4. 

While Microsoft didn’t explicitly name Sony, it posted a tweet about Smart Delivery for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, claiming to have a thread for how it works “in a few steps.” But rather than launching into a large Twitter thread, the Xbox UK account simply followed it up with “just buy the game.”

But that second tweet was accompanied by the winking face of Calvin Candie, the disgusting yet captivating antagonist of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. Given this came shortly after the Spider-Man: Remastered news, it looks very much like Microsoft is poking fun at Sony and the way it will handle a lot of games that cross the PS4 and PS5 generations.

And that’s somewhat understandable. Microsoft has made a big deal about Smart Delivery, which will let you upgrade to an Xbox Series X or Series S version of a game you have bought on the Xbox One at no extra cost. All first-party Xbox games will have Smart Delivery, as will third-party titles like Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Dirt 5. It’s a very gamer-friendly move and is a rather compelling argument for opting for a next-generation Xbox over the PS5. 

But there are games like Cyberpunk 2077  and Marvel's Avengers which will get a free upgrade from the PS4 version to the PS5. And Sony has already confirmed that those who buy the new Spider-Man: Miles Morales game for PS4 will get a free upgrade to the PS5 version. So not every game will be affected by Sony’s arguably lackluster approach to next-generation upgrades. 

It’s worth noting that Sony has said 99 percent of PS4 games will be playable on the PS5, though these will not be remastered versions. But Sony’s PS Plus Collection will provide a curated list of exclusive PS4 games that will run on the PS5, presumably with some enhancements (even if it’s just in loading times) for a subscription fee. 

While Xbox UK’s tweet appeared to be in good humor, it did raise a good point about cross-generation gaming. However, Sony has said it is very much focused on delivering next-generation gaming experiences rather than create a games ecosystem like Microsoft appears to be doing. 

Granted, it backtracked a little on that with exclusive games like Horizon Forbidden West also set to arrive on the PS4. But Sony’s starting PS5 games line up looks stronger than the Xbox Series X’s, which has lost a major launch title now that Halo Infinite has been delayed to 2021. 

Overall, both consoles don't have a particularly strong line up of launch games, which is why we’ve argued that you don’t need a PS5 or Xbox Series X at launch. But that hasn’t stopped the console pre-orders from selling out very quickly. 

If you want to pre-order the PS5 in the U.S. then check out our dedicated PS5 pre-order page; British PlayStation fans can checkout U.K. centric PS5 pre-order page. And for Xbox fans, here’s an Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S pre-order page, and an equivalent Xbox Series X and Series S UK pre-order page. 

Roland Moore-Colyer
Roland Moore-Colyer

Roland Moore-Colyer a Managing Editor at Tom’s Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he’s also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland can be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his face.