Horizon Hunters Gathering Is Reportedly Being Reworked Into a Smaller Co-Op Game
The project has not been canceled, but many developers will be reassigned while Guerrilla Games works toward a December 2026 milestone.
Guerrilla Games is reportedly reworking Horizon Hunters Gathering into a much smaller co-op game after poor feedback from two private tests earlier this year. The revised plan removes the live-service component and instead centers on traditional cooperative multiplayer with a story mode, according to Bloomberg.
The Amsterdam-based PlayStation subsidiary and Sony Interactive Entertainment announced Horizon Hunters Gathering in February as a live-service multiplayer spin-off connected to Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West. The project was also designed to support solo play with NPC allies alongside multiplayer co-op, although its final form has not been confirmed. Another announced Horizon multiplayer project, Steel Frontiers, is being developed by NCSoft. A small-scale closed playtest was scheduled for the end of February, and a second private playtest took place in May, although it remains unclear whether that session directly prompted the changes that began in June. One of the private tests reportedly took place during the same weekend as Marathon‘s Server Slam, creating an overlap between two Sony-associated multiplayer projects. The crowded schedule does not by itself establish why the response was poor. People familiar with the project spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss its future, and the reported changes were also shared in a Bluesky post.
Guerrilla has not canceled the project
For now, Horizon Hunters Gathering remains in development. Guerrilla told staff during a meeting on Wednesday, August 19, that they would have until December 2026 to impress executives with the next milestone.
Many developers will be reassigned to another project, though its title and purpose have not been disclosed. A smaller group within Guerrilla is reportedly handling the redesign. The staffing move is due for review at the end of the year, while the smaller co-op version faces an internal review before Guerrilla and PlayStation decide whether the new direction can continue.
Sony’s live-service push faces another review
The situation also adds another complication to PlayStation’s live-service push. Projects connected to The Last of Us, God of War, and Spider-Man have also been canceled.
Sony’s Games as a Service strategy began with a 2022 goal of developing 10 live-service games. Concord was pulled from sale two weeks after its 2024 launch, while Sony canceled live-service projects at Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games. Firewalk Studios was also shut down after Concord failed commercially. Bluepoint was later closed earlier this year.
Helldivers 2 has been a major success for the company, while Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Hideaki Nishino told Famitsu in June that Sony would continue backing live-service games despite the setbacks.
The next single-player Horizon game remains years away
Only a small team is reportedly working on the next single-player Horizon game, which remains years away from completion. The update leaves both projects at very different stages, with Horizon Hunters Gathering facing an executive review much sooner than the franchise’s next solo adventure is expected to arrive.
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Horizon Hunters Gathering
Developed by Guerrilla Games
