Horizon Forbidden West: How to play ahead of launch?

A workaround for Horizon Forbidden West is going viral ahead of its launch for the PlayStation consoles. As the game is receiving strongly positive reviews, some couldn’t wait to get their hands on playing the next chapter in Aloy’s journey.

The workaround is quite contentious amongst the PlayStation community since going viral. We advise those who wish to employ these steps to consider the feasibility as they’ll be working on playing the game hours earlier.

Early access workaround for Horizon Forbidden West

A YouTube content creator, Linus Wilson, is going viral for a PlayStation workaround that grants players “early access” to the much-anticipated sequel, Horizon Forbidden West. While we can somewhat understand why some players anxiously want to play, the method they had embarked on is questionable at best.

The method in question originally has worked successfully on Xbox consoles for a handful of their releases, likely exclusive games. However, the process doesn’t quite translate well for the PlayStation console; even so, the game is reportedly more expensive in the country than in the United States.

According to the YouTuber, these are the following steps that they can use to play Horizon Forbidden West hours before its global release. These steps can hypothetically work on the PS4 and PS5 consoles, but it will only last for a few hours before the game’s release local time:

• Set up a PlayStation Network New Zealand account via the PlayStation app or PlayStation Direct Store
• Add a legitimate New Zealand-based payment address to the account
• Purchase or pre-order Horizon Forbidden West
• Visit the PC Game Supply website to purchase a PSN New Zealand Gift Card to receive a redeem code
• Log in to the PlayStation Direct Store and use your PSN details and the redeem code
• Pre-load or download the game via the PlayStation Direct Store New Zealand website

Once the game is installed, they’ll have to play it on their New Zealand PSN account to play it early. Some PlayStation owners have noted that they can purchase the game via the PlayStation Direct Store in any region that is the cheapest.

Regardless, some PlayStation owners have commented on the YouTube video that the method had worked and can play Horizon Forbidden West. While there’s still confusion and doubt regarding this method, this method is only applicable to the game’s digital version.

Horizon Forbidden West launches on 18th February 2022 for PlayStation 4 and 5 consoles. We want to thank YouTuber, Linus Wilson, for supplying the tutorial on how to play Horizon Forbidden West early.

• Read more: Horizon Forbidden West - Install size and pre-load

Featured image courtesy of Guerrilla Games.