Guerrilla Games’ unannounced multiplayer spinoff for Horizon is still in the works, according to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier.
When Sony laid off 900 PlayStation employees this week, it also canceled several projects. When asked of the Horizon project’s status on Twitter, Schreirer said it remains in active production.
Sony’s been trying to get live-service offerings for its big franchises off the ground. A Twisted Metal project was canceled this week, which followed the axing of multiplayer games for Spider-Man and The Last of Us.
Guerrilla first confirmed it was doing a co-op Horizon game in 2022 after weeks of rumors. Beyond leaked alpha footage from last year, the developer has kept mum on the project.
Horizon’s co-op gets a reprieve from PlayStation’s culling
The live-service space has gotten rockier over the years, and that may still be the case when this Horizon title releases. Sony seemed aware of this, hence delaying half of its planned live-service projects last year.
So why does this one get to live as other projects are gutted? Part of it may have to do with Guerrilla’s pedigree: nearly all of its games have had multiplayer, and the Killzone series was supported extensively with post-launch DLC.
Like Naughty Dog, Guerrila said it was making a single-player Horizon alongside its co-op game. But the studio may just be run in such a way to where it doesn’t have to fret over being only a multiplayer or single-player developer.
Horizon is built around crafting, skirmishes, mounts, and selling parts for money. These mechanics have long been staples of multiplayer games like Palworld and the Monster Hunter series.
Assuming that previously rumored MMO is still on the table, Sony’s probably committed to Horizon being its big multiplayer franchise. Whether players will show up for it is another matter entirely.