Sony is overhauling Horizon Hunters Gathering, stripping the live-service design from Guerrilla’s co-op Horizon spinoff after negative feedback from private playtesting, Bloomberg reports.
What changes in the Horizon Hunters Gathering reboot
Guerrilla has been working on the reboot since June. The plan, according to people familiar with the project, is to replace the live-service component with “a traditional cooperative multiplayer game with a story mode and a far smaller scope”.
The studio was told in a staff meeting on Wednesday that it has until December to impress executives with its next milestone. The game is not cancelled, but many of its developers will be reassigned to a different project that will also be evaluated at the end of the year. PlayStation declined to comment.
From three-player hunts to a smaller scope
Horizon Hunters Gathering was announced on 5 February as a tactical three-player hunt for PS5 and PC, with a social hub, roguelite perks, the inevitable Monster Hunter comparisons, and a reception best described as tepid. Closed playtests followed through the PlayStation Beta Program; the feedback, per Bloomberg, did not get warmer.
It was a departure for Guerrilla in more ways than one. The studio that built its reputation on photoreal single-player adventures announced a cartoonish online game with ongoing content plans, and most of the team went with it.
PlayStation’s live-service retreat
The pivot is the latest in a string of setbacks for PlayStation’s live-service push. Sony has cancelled live-service projects in the God of War, Spider-Man and The Last of Us franchises, shut Bluepoint Games in February, and watched Concord fail within weeks of launch. Helldivers 2, the one breakout, sold 12 million copies in its first 12 weeks, IGN reports.
The $3.6bn Bungie acquisition in 2022 was meant to anchor the strategy. Marathon launched to underwhelming sales this year, and Destiny 2’s content pipeline was closed in May; the studio’s struggles have cost Sony hundreds of millions.
What happens to the Horizon franchise
A tiny team at Guerrilla is plotting the next single-player Horizon game, and it is years away from completion. Horizon Forbidden West ended on a cliffhanger in 2022, and the sequel to it is not the priority right now.
Horizon Hunters Gathering remains announced for PS5 and PC. No release date has ever been set.
What was Horizon Hunters Gathering supposed to be?
A tactical three-player co-op game set in the Horizon universe, announced in February for PS5 and PC. It was built around replayable machine hunts — with a roguelite perk system, a social hub, and two modes called Machine Incursion and Cauldron Descent — and drew comparisons to Monster Hunter.
Which PlayStation live-service games have been cancelled?
Sony has cancelled live-service projects in the God of War, Spider-Man and The Last of Us franchises, shut Bluepoint Games, and pulled Concord offline weeks after launch. Bungie’s Marathon sold poorly this year and Destiny 2 development has ended.
Is a new single-player Horizon game in development?
Yes, but it is years away. A small team at Guerrilla is working on the next single-player Horizon while most of the studio has been on Horizon Hunters Gathering. Horizon Forbidden West ended on a cliffhanger in 2022.
