Critics of Sony’s live service initiative are having their suspicions affirmed lately, as the platform holder struggles to get its projects off the ground. While the excellent Helldivers 2 has launched to great success, Naughty Dog’s standalone adaptation of The Last of Us has been unceremoniously scrapped, while Firesprite’s upcoming Twisted Metal reboot was recently canned and London Studio shuttered entirely. The latter was working on a co-op fantasy game.
But despite layoffs at Guerrilla Games last week, the platform holder is pushing ahead with its multiplayer Horizon game, which has been acknowledged by the Dutch developer in recruitment drives, following years of rumours. While little is known about the nature of the title, well-connected Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier says it wasn’t cancelled as part of the firm’s recent restructuring.
It seems there may be multiple online Horizon games in the works, with rumours pointing to some kind of Monster Hunter-style co-op entry as well as an MMO, which is being developed by Korean specialists NCSoft. Sony, as per usual, is keeping any announcements up its sleeve – but for now, it sounds like work is continuing in earnest on this expansion of the popular franchise.
[source x.com]
Comments 93
Factions got canned but this bland game MMO will see a release…
What unique experience is this only semi-popular ip going to provide? Can it entice enough people away from the heavy hitters of its genre? Sorry, but in this over saturated market that is what you have to ask yourself.
I think that releasing this is a waste of money tbh.
Guerrilla is great team but I don't think anyone is looking for this much Horizon. I like Aloy and the world they've created but they are going to over saturate with this IP.
Im not a fan of TLoU but even i can see, from comments ive heard since the release announcement and canned announcement that factions would have made Sony some £s. This game, not so much.
@j2c I find it weird when people say this. Like, Horizon Zero Dawn launched in 2017 — seven years ago.
In that time, there's been two games, two expansions, and a VR spin-off. It's hardly flooding the market, is it?
@Sanquine Did you play both? Else you are making assumptions that Factions was a good game and this is worse based on your own bias of these franchises and little more. Not a lot has been leaked about either game.
That’s a shame
Last Of Us Factions could've been incredible, its a real shame. I envisaged a Roadside Picnic kinda vibe. With people banding together to cross hot spots of clickers, bringing back loot and gear, whilst clashing with other human contingents for PvP.
@get2sammyb But it all looks the same. I couldn’t tell you whether it’s an Aloy character model from HZD or from HCotM, despite being games from two different developer teams. And her personality got even more annoying over time.
Why not focusing on a Killzone: Warzone?
@Sanquine and you know this game to be bland how exactly? If its anything like monster hunter world it will be anything but bland and probably quite good fun. The last of us would have made money for Sony and even though I'm not interested in anything the last of us related I feel sorry for those that were looking forwards to it.
Im looking forward to a monster hunter game with giant robot monsters. Remind me of Zoids from back in the day. Looking at the cancelled games i do wonder if Sony is restructuring away from the Live service push.
Horizon is basically a Monster Hunter with some backstory, therefore an even more moster-huntery entry would fit well in the lore.
@LifeGirl semi-popular? What is a semi-popular ip? The horizon games are one of sonys biggest selling games. So if that's you're idea of a semi-popular ip then what is your idea of a popular one? Please tell.
@Northern_munkey
Obviously Spider Man.
@get2sammyb 5 releases in 6 years? Some would consider that flooding the market. I like the Horizon IP, but I wish they would give it a rest and give Killzone some love or create something new.
@Sanquine
This pisses me off so goddamn much, it's insane.
How in god's name did they can factions 2 ffs. Best multiplayer released in the past decade besides something like rocket league.
They had gold... They were almost there...
God now I'm annoyed af lol
I know Factions being "cancelled" sounds baffling but I'm pretty sure everything they did for that game will be in the Last Of Us Part III in some form or another, especially since reports are the game was playable, and fun too.
I just want Horizon 3.
Sony obviously cut the live service games that they knew was gonna be trash and kept the one’s with potential.
@TwoDents no,no,no nooooo....its a semi-popular ip. Don't confuse the issue by putting facts in your comment 🤣
@Sanquine I always laugh at people like you. Acting like ND made great MP games. None of them were praised for the multiplayer, neither is no-one talking about the no return mode
and Bungie evaluated them and concluded what everyone knows.
I wished it was cancelled! Better they focus on a new single player narrative IP 😫
@get2sammyb 5 games in 7 years is actually a lot apart from annual sports games and COD can you name another franchise that has that many entries in the last 7 years?
Makes sense to keep the horizon game. It’s different than what’s out there already, and would fill a gap in the market.
And we all know it will be to a good standard.
Just use common sense, price it at a good price point and it will sell.
And IMO launch it on Xbox too.
Can't wait for this, this was probably the only live service game I was looking forward to from Sony so I'm glad to hear it's not been canned. Hopefully the rumours about it being similar to monster hunter are true as it would suit the game perfectly.
@bindiana it’s not 5 entries, it’s 3. Classing expansions as entries pushes it a little. And one of those 3 is on a niche VR platform.
If so then stuff like elder scrolls online, destiny 2, final fantasy, star ocean, GT, Spider-Man to name a few have done more.
@bindiana the lego franchise. Since 2018 across all platforms there have been at least 7 titles.
@PsBoxSwitchOwner They would be better off launching it on the switch 2 then the Xbox.
@Northern_munkey A popular game in my book has to have taken the world by storm. GTA, Fortnite, WoW, Minecraft, COD.
Horizon is semi-popular.
And regardless of that, as I already stated, it has sold precisely nothing in the MMO genre. The idea that people are going to abandon WoW or FF14 for this is pure fantasy.
@LifeGirl we've found the person that would have cancelled Helldivers 2 at the pitch stage.
I just do not care for Horizon, especially with how annoying Aloy is because she never shuts up, made even worse with its sequel. I just want another Killzone game, only one I have played was Shadowfall and I found it so much more interesting.
@PsBoxSwitchOwner Most of those are MMO's which is a whole different beast. Not sure where Spiderman, GT and Star Ocean come into it. As Horizons expansions are quite substatial not 2 or 3 hour expansion.
@ChrisDeku For every one Helldivers there are ten failures. Why do you think that so many studios are culling staff and talking about dialling back from AAA releases?
I'd rather they cancelled this rubbish and set people working on something else, than laying anyone off.
@LifeGirl sure but they're failures for a reason. They're mostly games no one wanted in the first place or games ruined beyond recovery by live services and *****.
@TwoDents Resident Evil 2 Remake sold 13.6 million and the franchise itself in total is in the billions.
Sorry, Horizon to RE is a false equivalence.
I've watched the leaked footage on YouTube, it looks a bit cringe. Typical live service cartoony art style
@LifeGirl well of course it's sold nothing in the mmo genre because it isn't one. I see you are forgetting the sales figures for each game and you are clearly listing games that appeal to you and by that token games you play therefore showing your bias. It would have been much easier to take your view seriously if you just said you didn't like the horizon games.
@Kidfunkadelic83 i wouldn't have touched it with a barge pole.
On the one hand, Naughty Dog want to branch out and try new things, that's a 👍 from me, even if it's multiplayer.
On the other, it was bound to have unnecessary monetisation, "firefly tokens" or some other bollocks that detracts from the experience (for me).
@LifeGirl So you're solution is to not even try and cancel everything unless it's in a franchise that sells 100m units? Brilliant.
@bindiana well Spider-Man has had 3 full games since 2018, star ocean has had many full releases in that time frame. As has final fantasy to name a few with as many releases.
@TwoDents The real question is though, how many units would Forbidden West have sold if not included in the PS5 bundles? It did not sell as well as the first one either way and the overall reception was not nearly as positive. Personally I'm a fan, but I don't necessarily think there is a huge market for an online game, and if so, such a game will only cause more harm than good to the IP.
Billions?? You can go onto Capcom website for up to date financial information you don’t need to make it up.
Resident Evil franchise has sold 154m units from over 170 SKU’s (30 individual titles including 10 mainline titles and 4 Remakes)and over a period of 28 years.
The best selling Resident evil game sold slightly more than half of Horizon: Zero Dawn while being available on more platforms.
@havoc33 why will it? Why will this game cause more harm than good? The way I see it is like this:-
There will be gamers that don't usually play the kind of action game horizon is but will play the mmo horizon because it will pique their interest. Unless you have a method of reading the future quit while you are ahead or share your insight please.
Someone at Sony really likes Horizon. To me they was both fun but forgettable.
@get2sammyb but people are saying it, so clearly there are people that feel this way. Maybe Sony can have there very own yearly release like Assassin's Creed, wouldn't that be great. Don't forget there's also a Horizon tv show on the way too, yay 🙃
IF and big IF this horizon monster hunter I think I'm in...I've been a monster hunter fan since psp
I like Horizon a lot but I'm not really interested in a coop Monster Hunter spin-off. I don't play coop only stuff really and I don't like Monster Hunter so I doubt this one would change my mind. I would rather see a Killzone from Guerilla if they want to do something online related but alas that doesn't seem likely any time soon.
@Dr_ENT its being made by NC Soft so Guerilla are likely working on their next single player game.
@Northern_munkey dude, whats with the attitude? The whole point of a message board is to give an opinion, you know?
Obviously if the game flops, it will hurt the IP in form of brand reputation and possibly affect future investments in the franchise to a degree. I think Sony is slightly overestimating the value of the IP, but hey, let's see how it plays out.
@TwoDents Not sure what narrative you think I am "Pushing" I was pointing out that Horizon had 5 products out in the last 7 years. Actually praising them that the expansions are substantial and not quick cash grabs. My opinion the expansions are of good length and quality they should be considered proper entries. Sorry other people don't agree with that but thats my opinion.
On one hand, my favourite aspect of the series is the combat and could work in a Monster Hunter sort of online coop game with good content. We don't have much detail on what the game is.
Still this is a time of risky strategies and Sony must be looking at the market and (hopefully) rethinking their live service strategy. Helldivers has done well but you can't sustain too many of these releases.
I'm curious to how this multiplayer will play out. Horizon's a fun series overall.
@CrackmanNL Dunno if you were around when Uncharted 2 and 3 launched, the multiplayer was very popular and praised among the fans. UC4 was popular at launch but fizzled out quickly due to the barebone modes and lack of updated content. I didn't vibe with Factions but everyone I've talked to had nothing but praise for it. The only issue with Naughty Dog's MP, they're addicting but they get abandoned quickly after a year or so. Wouldn't be surprised if that was the issue as well, lack of ideas to maintain it's addictiveness years on ahead.
@j2c @get2sammyb I think PC is probably what gives the impression, without the PC releases the lineup is:
That's far from flooding the market but when you add in the PC releases, you get:
Which is Horizon almost every year from 2020 onwards.
Gods be with the days when people could say "I like/don't like this, this is/is not for me," without having to justify it either way with selective facts/non facts.
I'm a little relieved to hear this news.
I've only played one Monster Hunter game (World) but I loved it. Like many I've thought the Horizon world would be a great fit for a MH style game so I'd definitely like to see how this game turns out.
I assume the mmo is the mobile game?
It wouldn't be for me but I'm definitely curious to see how that develops too.
As for notions that they are struggling to get online projects off the ground, I think Sony's only mistake in that regard so far was announcing that they had so many live service titles in development. Projects like these are cancelled all the time and revealing them before they were ready has created a narrative with a life of its own.
So far this gen they've released GT7 and Helldivers II.
If the remaining games are half as fun as either of these I'm here for them. (And I'm sure Factions will turn up again at some point in some form.)
@TwoDents Thanking for letting me know my opinion is irrelevant I stand fully corrected I will consult with you in the future if I ever try and have another opinion. Hopefully your day is now wonderful now that you have establlished yours is the only opinion that matters.
@TwoDents And multiple people have expressed the same opinion as me but I havent told anyone else there opinion is irrelevant. I and other people are putting across why it feels like there has been lots of entries. Its fine you don't see them all as entries but other people do. Again my opinion, so again sorry if you think its wrong all the games and expansions even the VR game have been heavily advertised by Sony (where I live anyway) when they were released which again would cause the effect of over saturation
I really like the Horizon games.
I am worried that these live service games will ruin the franchise despite the outcome of there success or failure.
@havoc33 there's no attitude. I was asking a simple question. You have no way of knowing that this will only harm the ip. Your choice of words not mine.
And I just found out twisted metal was canned this is so dissapointing
I'm extremely salty about factions being cancelled but that doesn't need to affect this. Hope it's good
I absolutely love Horizon. Did HFW's story get a little goofy at the end? Yes it did, but I'm hopeful the third game will return to HZD's unique tones of wonder and despair. Aloy & friends have Wikipedia now and there's a ton of creative stuff they can do with the story. Call of the Mountain was very good and I'm disappointed we don't seem to be getting a sequel (or any big VR PS Studios fare).
As for multiplayer Horizon, I hope it really is a Monster Hunter clone with MH's degree of combat complexity. More likely it's gonna be a bow and arrow co-op shooter... Either way I'll be there on day one.
Judging a game that isn’t even out for the public is a stupid mentality to have.
@Sanquine Factions got canned because they couldn't make money from it, whereas I would've purchased TLOU2 for Factions alone.
@themightyant I played both. Please see my PsN account 😀
@CrackmanNL Factions in TLOU was fantastic. Horizon also still needs to prove themselves. Only played Killzone 3 which was an okay online experience.. Killzone 2 was lightening in a bottle
@Northern_munkey I found the story of Horizon ZD fantastic. The second game went in the wrong direction imho (love the gameplay but storywise…)
@Sanquine yeah that still dosnt answer how you know this game will be bland. Just because it may not appeal to you doesn't mean it will be bland. There are no details about the game yet for you to base your assumptions on. I enjoyed the first game but could not get into the 2nd. This will be more up my street as I enjoy mmo's if its anything like monster hunter world.
Boo for live service! At least they’ve backed off some.
Yay? I mean, good for Guerilla, but I'd rather see Horizon 3 or hell, a new Killzone game.
Horizon: Zero Dawn and Horizon: Forbidden West are both great games with huge fanbases! Why do people believe if they don’t like something it means the rest of the world feels the same?
Horizon already feels like it needs a break. I mean it’s a beautiful world and all, but i would like to see them make some thing else and then come back to it.
This could be really good. If it's in the vein of going out defeating robots, competing cauldrons and stuff like that then I'm all down.
Just depends on the gameplay and mission structures. Like it can't just be bow and arrow, those should be secondary weapons otherwise I can see it getting frustrating quickly
I expect Hermen made sure this one wasn't canned.
We can't get a new Twisted Metal but we are getting more Horizon and Aloy. Oh... great... now excuse me while I fall asleep.
@TwoDents It didn't grab the zeitgeist. Everyone forgot it came out 1,5 month go.
@InsaneWade Yep. if you were around that time there were so many great MP experiences were Uncharted was so outdated and weak (in the MP space) especially the shooting mechanics. Some examples of 2007 when UC came out: Halo 3, Rainbow Six Vegas, CoD4: MW. Team Fortress (in the Orange Box)
You can enjoy ND's weak MP modes no issue, just don't act like Horizon is not one of PS best selling franchise and a Monster Hunter like game doesn't makes sense for it.
@CrackmanNL You said Naughty Dog's games with MP weren't praised, I'm merely correcting you in that it was extremely popular and praised at the time with Uncharted and TLOU1. To strengthen your opinion, I wouldn't list FPS as prime examples to compare when Uncharted was completely third-person. It is like comparing apples to oranges. What we agree upon though was there was a great variety of MP experiences that generation that appeased many different tastes.
" just don't act like Horizon is not one of PS best selling franchise and a Monster Hunter like game doesn't makes sense for it" - This is a random thought to bring up. Where did I say anything like this?
@Mr_B021 A expansion isnt a full game even if you say it ten times its not the same. Also one was a VR game. So it's a VR game, two expansions and two games so in the worst case it's 3 games.
@InsaneWade The last quote was regarding the general consensus here from people that put down Horizon but act like ND made really well MP and that is just fraud.
And from MP experiences to exact genres. I brought up the 2007 games near it's release and the so called ''fraud praise for MP'' people are throwing here. Technically, R6:Vegas moves to third person in cover. But to actually compare Apples to Apples as you ask there was a game called Gears of War
Maybe brush up the reviews/videos around that time, no one praised Uncharted nor Last of Us for it's MP. If you enjoyed it fine, I enjoyed Lost Planet mp and MGS4 but I am not acting it was creme of the crop.
@Flaming_Kaiser I never said it ten times and I never mentioned full games. I talked about releases. And five releases in six years, with the last two releasing within two months of each other, is flooding the market, or at the very least bad timing. I love the IP, but I want to avoid franchise fatigue. The statement: "there may be multiple online Horizon games in the works" does not inspire confidence..
@CrackmanNL Fair enough. I like both series so it really doesn't matter to me if either or neither Horizon/TLOU go through with MP. Guerilla has more experience with MP games compared to Naughty Dog which might've given them the leverage on their Horizon MMO surviving. I'm mainly curious on how Horizon would function as MP, since Guerilla's been only known for Killzone prior.
Indeed, Gears of War was Xbox's third person caveat while Uncharted was one of the main bread of PS3 generation. If that was the main debate on which is better, then there you are. My main focus was to say Naughty Dog's MP weren't poorly received from past history .
Don't forget those community forums. Prior to 2013, most gamers were hanging out there when Youtube was the haven of Let's Players & Walkthroughs. Uncharted was always one of the MP games listed for community events. I don't know where in my post I said that I thought it was the best or creme of the crop. Popular + praised well doesn't always mean it's the best. 😉
@ChrisDeku
Not just her, me too. It's trash, watched 30 seconds of the "Teaser" vid and stopped.
It's nothing original at all...and a rip off of Starship Troopers movie...
Just as bad as Cod/Fortnite, actually, all the stupid MP shooters....
@KennethKoerperich88 and you haven't played it obviously because it's an excellent game.
@Nepp67
When they make a new Killzone game, I hope it has a female protagonist who has lines of dialogue to speak.
Is this a game anybody is wanting? It’s time for some new IP
@MikeOrator WOMEN?? IN MY VIDEO GAME? I think not
@Northern_munkey
It's TRASH....
But that's how life goes, I have an opinion, you have an opinion. Yours sucks, mines right. My friends list says so...NOBODY plays that trash....
@KennethKoerperich88 LMFAO...I respect your opinion and that's about all I can think of saying to be honest 👍
It’s basically one of the most popular games in the world right now. More people played it on PS5 than FF Rebirth during the release for Rebirth. Was the 5th most played game on Steam yesterday, behind 4 free to play games.
@ChrisDeku
So millions of flies can't be wrong either when choosing crap eh?
@ZhuckelDror He said no one plays it and I pointed out millions of people are playing it. Your response makes no sense in the context of this discussion.
@MikeOrator O please no i can't handle the Alphakids anymore and the word WOKE that comes with the fake outrage.
@Flaming_Kaiser
Do you mean the word "Woke" that they stole from the African Americans that means for racialized people to stay vigilant against the oppression of the ultra-right and white/Christian nationalists and now they use it as an insult for people who want the world to be more inclusive and kinder to others? Is that the "woke" you are talking about?
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