Horizon Franchise Online Game Has Been in Development For Nearly 6 Years

Guerilla Games officially confirmed the development of an online Horizon co-op game a few months ago. Apart from the confirmation, the project and the studio’s goals for the online title remain a mystery.

However, a developer’s LinkedIn profile suggests the project may be more ambitious than expected. Guerilla Games appears to have begun working on the online game in 2018, leading to nearly six years of development already.

Why it matters: The online Horizon game’s announcement has received much attention because the franchise has been limited to single-player gameplay. Therefore, fans are curious to learn about the studio’s take on a multiplayer offering for the IP.

According to the LinkedIn profile of Simon Larouche, Director of the online Horizon game, development of the project began in February 2018.

This could suggest that the online Horizon game may be packed with a lot of content because this is an extremely long development cycle. However, other reasons may have contributed to the long development cycle.

It is possible that Guerrilla Games faced problems and challenges translating the Horizon universe into an online project. The studio also worked on games like Horizon Forbidden West during this period.

Despite the game being in development for about six years, Guerrilla Games may not have made much progress. Job listings reveal that the game will feature an open world, allowing players to communicate with both people and machines.

This provides a small hint at what to expect from the project. Recent leaks also revealed a few screenshots from an alpha build in January, which further suggest that the project has not made much progress since 2018.

Sony’s recent financial report confirmed a delay in various first-party projects. While the Horizon online project was never announced for a 2023 or 2024 release, this may be one of the projects facing delays internally.

Furthermore, the online Horizon game is not the only project under development in the franchise, as Guerilla Games has also confirmed a sequel to Horizon Forbidden West.

Guerilla Games confirms it will not move on from the Horizon franchise anytime soon. The studio has long-term plans for the series, hinting at a promising future for Aloy and the Horizon universe.