Horizon Zero Dawn and sequel Horizon Forbidden West spin-off Horizon Hunters Gathering is reportedly taking on a new shape following ill-received playtests.
Horizon Hunters Gathering, a project from developer Guerrilla Games and publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment, has been in the works for a little while now. Guerrilla unveiled the game as a live service multiplayer spin-off back in February, at which point it was reported that "most of the studio" was on the new title (much to the dismay of folks hoping for a Horizon threequel, unsurprisingly).
It doesn't seem to be going all that well so far, however.
According to a new report from Bloomberg, unnamed sources familiar with the project's current state allege that PlayStation has been reworking it since June after receiving poor feedback following private playtesting – perhaps the second round of playtesting that rolled out in May.
Supposedly, the devs and publisher are transforming Horizon Hunters Gathering into a more "traditional" co-op experience with a story mode… and much smaller scope.
BREAKING: PlayStation is rebooting the online game Horizon Hunters Gathering after negative playtest feedback. New plan is smaller scope, more traditional co-op multiplayer, no more live service. Yet another entry in PlayStation's ongoing live-service struggles: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
— @jasonschreier.bsky.social (@jasonschreier.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-08-19T16:04:34.727Z
What that means precisely is unknown, but at the least, the game doesn't seem to be entirely scrapped – yet, anyway.
As per the report, Sony apparently told Guerrilla that devs would have until the end of December to change things for the better and impress higher-ups with the game. That's not all, either.
Apparently, many of Horizon Hunters Gathering's current devs will end up reassigned to a separate project (although there's no title provided here).
Bloomberg states that a representative for PlayStation has declined to comment. There's also no solid word from Guerrilla itself, but it's disheartening to read nonetheless.
It hasn't exactly been an easy time for live service games recently, with failed and axed projects from Sony popping up left, right, and center. I'm immediately reminded of the supposed live service God of War spin-off and, of course, The Last of Us Online.
As for what's next for Horizon Hunters Gathering, it's hard to tell. Here's hoping that either the dev or publisher provides a bit of information itself soon.
