Sony's challenging period with live service games seems to have spread to the Horizon universe. According to Bloomberg, Guerilla Games is turning Horizon Hunters Gathering from a live service game into a more traditional multiplayer cooperative structure. Behind this decision lies the negative feedback received during the game's closed tests. The studio has been reshaping the game since June.
Live service mechanics are being reworked
According to the report, most of the game's live service mechanics are being removed. Instead, a story-focused mode and a much smaller scope are being targeted. According to Jason Schreier, sources say the game will be designed more like a classic co-op game. So instead of a constantly updated world, we will likely see a structure that players can complete together. How long this transformation will take and when the game will be ready remains uncertain for now.
Sony's live service track record
This development means another blow to Sony's live service strategy. The company has experienced multiple failures in this area in recent years. Concord became the most well-known example, being shut down and removed from stores immediately after its launch. Bluepoint Games was closed after the cancellation of a God of War-themed live service game; Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer game was also shelved despite being said to be 80% complete. A Twisted Metal battle royale game was also among the projects cancelled a few years ago. With the ongoing poor performance of Marathon and the silence of Fairgames, which lost its director, it is clear that Sony is struggling to achieve the major success it desires in the live service space.
A critical window for Guerilla
The Bloomberg report states that the game has not been cancelled yet, but Guerilla Games needs to impress PlayStation executives by December. It also notes that many developers on the team have been moved to another project at the studio. This indicates that Guerilla has multiple projects that will be evaluated at the end of the year. The game's future will largely depend on these evaluations.
Conclusion
Whether Horizon Hunters Gathering will be released in its new form will become clear in the coming months. On the positive side, the studio can listen to player feedback and abandon its insistence on live service. The bad news is that Sony is showing an increasingly impatient attitude toward live service projects. Guerilla Games is expected to transfer its experience in the Horizon universe to a traditional cooperative game; but first it needs to pass the evaluation in December. We hope the studio successfully completes this transformation and Horizon fans get a new adventure.
