If you’re trying to remember when did Horizon Forbidden West come out, you probably have a slightly fuzzy memory of the timeline. That makes sense. Honestly, the release was a bit of a moving target for a while. We were all stuck inside, the world was weird, and Guerilla Games was trying to follow up one of the most beloved hits of the PS4 era while navigating a global supply chain crisis.
It officially hit shelves on February 18, 2022.
But that's just the PS4 and PS5 date. If you're a PC player or someone waiting for the "Complete Edition," the timeline stretches out much further. The game didn't just drop and disappear; it had this long, rolling release schedule that honestly felt like it lasted two years.
The Long Wait for Aloy's Return
When Sony first showed off that gorgeous trailer in June 2020, everyone assumed we’d be playing it by Christmas 2021. We weren't. Guerilla Games eventually had to come clean at Gamescom 2021, admitting they needed more time to polish the Forbidden West. It was a bummer, but considering the state of "crunch" in the industry, most fans were cool with it.
The February 18, 2022, launch was a massive deal for Sony. It was their first "cross-gen" blockbuster of that scale. Remember the drama about the $10 upgrade fee? Sony initially said PS4 owners would have to pay extra for the PS5 version. The internet absolutely lost its mind. Within days, Jim Ryan, the President of Sony Interactive Entertainment at the time, had to pivot. He issued a statement confirming that anyone who bought the PS4 version would get the PS5 upgrade for free.
It was a messy start to an otherwise incredible launch.
Breaking Down the PC and Complete Edition Releases
If you’re a PC gamer, you had to be way more patient. Sony used to keep their exclusives locked behind the PlayStation wall forever, but that’s changed. After the success of Horizon Zero Dawn on Steam, it was only a matter of time before the sequel followed.
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- The Horizon Forbidden West: Complete Edition (which included the Burning Shores DLC) arrived on PS5 on October 6, 2023.
- The PC version finally landed on March 21, 2024.
Nixxes Software handled the port, and they did a killer job. While the PS5 version was already a technical marvel, the PC release added things like DLSS 3, FSR 3, and support for those ultra-wide monitors that make the jungle environments look absolutely ridiculous.
Why the Date Mattered: The Elden Ring Factor
Timing is everything in the gaming world. Sometimes, you get lucky. Sometimes, you launch a week before a cultural supernova.
Horizon Forbidden West came out exactly seven days before Elden Ring.
Think about that. You have this incredibly polished, high-fidelity open-world game that everyone has been waiting for. It’s selling well, reviews are glowing (we're talking 88s and 89s on Metacritic), and then FromSoftware drops a genre-defining masterpiece that sucks all the oxygen out of the room. It was basically a repeat of 2017, where the first Horizon game launched right next to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
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The devs probably felt like they were cursed. Even so, Sony later confirmed that the game had sold over 8.4 million copies by mid-2023. It’s a massive success by any metric, even if it had to share the spotlight with Malenia and the Lands Between.
Technical Milestones and DLC Windows
The release date wasn't just a day on the calendar; it was a showcase for what the PS5 could actually do. If you played it on launch day, you saw the "SSD magic" everyone was talking about. Fast travel actually felt fast.
Then came the Burning Shores.
This expansion was a bit controversial because it ditched the PS4 entirely. It came out on April 19, 2023. Guerilla explained that the technical requirements for the final boss fight—which involved a mountain-sized Horus robot—were just too much for the old 2013 hardware to handle. It was the first real sign that the cross-gen era was ending.
Summary of the Release Timeline
If you need to keep the dates straight for a trivia night or just to settle a bet, here is the breakdown:
- Original PS4/PS5 Launch: February 18, 2022.
- Burning Shores DLC: April 19, 2023.
- Complete Edition (PS5): October 6, 2023.
- PC Release (Steam/Epic): March 21, 2024.
It’s been a long road for Aloy. From the red blight in the Forbidden West to the volcanic ruins of Los Angeles in the DLC, the game has evolved significantly since that first Friday in February 2022.
Actionable Steps for New Players
If you’re just now jumping in because you finally saw the release date and realized you're late to the party, here’s how to handle it.
Don't buy the PS5-specific disc if you can find the PS4 version cheaper. The free upgrade is still valid. Just put the PS4 disc in your PS5, and you can download the digital next-gen version at no cost. Also, if you’re playing on PC, make sure your drivers are updated specifically for the Nixxes port; they released a series of "hotfix" updates shortly after the March 2024 launch that significantly improved performance on mid-range cards.
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Lastly, if you haven't played the first game (Zero Dawn), stop. Go back. The story in Forbidden West picks up literally days after the first one ends. You'll be hopelessly lost if you don't know who HADES is or why the world ended in the first place. Get the lore right first, then head West.
Next Steps for Your Playthrough:
Check your console storage before downloading, as the "Complete Edition" clocks in at well over 120GB. If you're on PC, prioritize installing the game on an NVMe SSD to ensure the seamless world-loading that the game was designed for. Unlike older titles, running this off a mechanical hard drive will result in significant stuttering during flight and fast-travel sequences.
The game is currently available on PlayStation Plus Extra for subscribers, which is often the most cost-effective way to play if you haven't purchased it yet. Keep an eye on the Steam Seasonal sales for the PC version, as it typically sees 20-30% discounts during major events.