It's been a real tough week for Spider-Man Remastered as Sony has confirmed a series of bad news about the game. First up, it was confirmed that the game will not support cross-save, meaning that PS4 players cannot carry over their progress to the PS5. Secondly, it was also confirmed that Spider-Man Remastered will not be a physical release, and it will only be available digitally. Now, Sony has confirmed that Spider-Man Remastered offers no free next-gen upgrade to existing Spider-Man owners.
In an interview with Kotaku, Sony offered an unsatisfactory explanation for why there's no free upgrade for Spider-Man Remastered. Even though players who buy Spider-Man: Miles Morales on the PS4 will be eligible for a free PS5 upgrade, they'll still need to pay $20 for Spider-Man Remastered. And Spider-Man: Miles Morales for PS5 will already include Spider-Man Remastered. This confirms that Peter Parker's adventure has no free upgrade, and also it cannot be bought separately.
So, a straightforward way to enjoy Spider-Man Remastered on the PS5 is to buy the Ultimate Edition of Spider-Man: Miles Morales for $69.99. On PS4, however, this isn't simple. First of all, there's no Miles Morales Ultimate Edition on the PS4, and it costs $50. Even though Miles Morales is eligible for a free PS5 upgrade, players will still need to pay an additional $20 to download Spider-Man Remastered. Moreover, Sony has explicitly stated that "there are no plans currently to offer Marvel's-Spider-Man Remastered as a standalone."
While players who own Spider-Man on the PS4 will be able to enjoy the game on PS5 via backwards compatibility, the game will still lack the various improvements implemented for the remastered version.
According to Insomniac, Spider-Man Remastered isn't a simple remaster, but instead the game will feature "better-looking characters with improved skin, eyes, hair, and facial animations [as well as] ray-traced reflections and ambient shadows, improved lighting, more pedestrians and vehicles stretching further into the distance, and the same optional performance mode offered on Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales".
The remastered version will also include three new Spider-Man suits, new Trophies, a photo mode, and all three DLC episodes.
