Guerrilla Games Horizon Hunters Gathering artwork featuring Aloy and Erend

When Guerrilla Games initially unveiled Horizon Hunters Gathering earlier this year, the live-service spin-off was met with considerable skepticism. Although rooted in the rich lore established by Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, its radical departure in visual presentation and core gameplay mechanics puzzled long-time franchise devotees. Now, following underwhelming feedback from confidential playtests, PlayStation appears to be fundamentally recalibrating the project’s creative trajectory.

According to a detailed report by Bloomberg‘s Jason Schreier—citing developers who spoke anonymously without studio authorization—Guerrilla Games is dismantling the game’s ongoing live-service infrastructure. Rather than pursuing an open-ended engagement model, the studio intends to reforge the title into a traditional, narrative-driven cooperative multiplayer outing with a substantially tighter focus.

While the spin-off has evaded outright cancellation for now, its future remains on a knife-edge. Insiders reveal that production leadership has until December to present a revamped build capable of satisfying executive benchmarks. Concurrently, a significant portion of the production staff is reportedly being redirected to alternate initiatives within Sony’s umbrella.

This restructuring underscores Sony’s protracted struggle to establish a foothold in the live-service arena. While the publisher continues to dominate the premium single-player sphere, its aggressive push into recurring-revenue titles has weathered severe setbacks. High-profile multiplayer adaptations of The Last of Us, Spider-Man, and God of War were quietly shelved before release, Destiny 2 has transitioned into a sunset phase, and the high-profile launch of Concord folded in historic fashion shortly after its debut.

For community members eager to embark on Aloy’s next mainline journey, the ripple effects are disheartening. The vast majority of the veteran team behind Horizon Forbidden West was diverted to rescue Hunters Gathering, leaving only a skeletal pre-production team to lay the groundwork for the third single-player installment—ensuring the next chapter remains several years away.

Source: Bloomberg