Originally announced for the PlayStation 4, Atelier Ryza 2 is also coming to the PlayStation 5 via a free update. In South Korea, as of writing, it’s not.
According to the game’s South Korean publisher Digital Touch (via tipster Sang), the company does not have the publishing rights to the PlayStation 5 version. Rather, Digital Touch only has the PS4, Steam, and Switch publishing rights. But since Digital Touch never licensed the PS5 version, it’s not able to offer the free upgrade. Perhaps it didn’t know that it should have?
Tecmo Koei is publishing the game internationally in regions including North America and Japan.
The PS5 upgrade was only announced in September, and Digital Touch seemed flatfooted by the news. Even after following up with Tecmo Koei, as no licensing agreement had been drawn up, Digital Touch stated it still won’t be able to offer the PS5 version. In an online press release, the South Korean publisher apologized to players for their delay in handling the situation. Online in South Korea, there had been a backlash among fans.
This really seems like an unfortunate lack of communication.