Darksiders Warmastered Edition Hits PS5 and Xbox Series — but Charges PS5 Owners for an Upgrade Xbox Gives Away Free

What Launched

The current-gen console version of Darksiders: Warmastered Edition released on May 19, 2026, alongside a significant PC update. The original game — first released in 2010, remastered as Warmastered Edition in 2016 — now runs on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S with:

The upgrade is technically solid. Reviews and impressions confirm the 4K/60fps targets are met consistently, and the photo mode gives the game's distinctive art style a new showcase context.

The Controversy: Xbox Gets It Free, PS5 Doesn't

The problem is the upgrade pricing policy — and it's different on each platform.

New purchases are identical: $29.99 on both platforms.

The result is that PS4 owners of a game that's been in the library for years now have to pay $9.99 for the same upgrade that Xbox One owners receive at no cost. The disparity has generated the kind of community frustration that tends to follow platform policy inconsistencies.

Community Reaction

The reaction broke along predictable lines.

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"Smart Delivery exists for exactly this reason. You buy it once on Xbox and you're covered. Another reminder of why that policy matters." — r/XboxSeriesX

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"It's $9.99. Not exactly a scandal. But the principle is the problem — Xbox gets it free, PS5 doesn't, for the same upgrade." — r/PS5

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"THQ Nordic has done this before. They don't follow the free upgrade convention that most publishers adopted post-pandemic. It's frustrating but not surprising." — r/Games

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"I bought this on PS4 years ago assuming the upgrade would be free at some point. Finding out it's not is just annoying." — r/PS5

Some community members noted that the PC version update — which added Vulkan API support, photo mode, and motion aiming — was delivered free to all existing PC owners, making the PS4-to-PS5 charge feel more arbitrary.

Is the Game Worth It?

Setting aside the upgrade pricing debate, the Darksiders: Warmastered Edition itself remains a well-regarded action-adventure from 2010 (remastered 2016). Built on a premise of playing as War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the game blends hack-and-slash combat with Zelda-inspired dungeon structure and environmental puzzles. At the time of original release it stood out for its art direction — a comic book aesthetic rendered at a scale most games of the era didn't attempt.

At $29.99 for new buyers, the current-gen version is a reasonable entry point for an action game that holds up reasonably well. The 4K/60fps treatment addresses the primary technical criticism of older versions.

For existing owners: The $9.99 PS5 upgrade is optional — the PS4 version is still playable on PS5. Whether the 4K/60fps and photo mode justify the cost is a personal call.

Summary

Buy Darksiders Warmastered Edition on Steam →