Horizon Hunters Gathering seems to be going through a rough patch.
Publisher PlayStation Studios and developer Guerilla Games’ upcoming multiplayer spin-off game Horizon Hunters Gathering is reportedly going through a rough patch in development. According to a report from Bloomberg, the game is being stripped of its planned live service mechanics in favour of being a more typical multiplayer co-op game.
Horizon Hunters Gathering
Developer: Guerilla Games
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC
Release date: TBA
Is Horizon Hunters Gathering getting rebooted?
Bloomberg reports that Horizon Hunters Gathering has been going through a troubled development cycle this year. According to the outlet, which cites sources familiar with the developer’s plans, the game was hit with negative feedback following early playtests. The game was previously announced to hold closed playtests in May this year.
Following the poor feedback from playtesters, Guerilla Games has reportedly been overhauling Horizon Hunters Gathering to be a multiplayer co-op game without live service elements. The game is now planned to feature a story mode and a “far smaller scope” overall.
Bloomberg says the game is “not yet cancelled,” but Guerilla Games has a deadline of December 2026 to impress executives with the game’s next milestone. Another unnamed project at the developer is also set to be evaluated at the end of year, which many Horizon Hunters Gathering developers are said to be reassigned to at this moment.
Horizon Hunters Gathering thus finds itself in a tricky spot, with four months left to prove itself as a non-live service game. Bloomberg reports that this pivot is a microcosm of Sony’s larger failure to breach the live service market. The publisher has also cancelled God of War, Spider-Man, and The Last of Us multiplayer live service games in recent years. PlayStation Studios also saw the sunsetting of Bungie’s Destiny 2, while the same developer’s most recent game Marathon received a lukewarm sales reception.
Sony and NCSoft are still in the midst of development on a Horizon Zero Dawn MMORPG meant for PC and mobile platforms, entitled Horizon Steel Frontiers. Meanwhile, Guerilla Games is reportedly plotting out a follow-up to Horizon Forbidden West with a “tiny team,” which is said to be “years away from completion.”
