It looks like the wait for Aloy’s third and possibly final adventure will have to wait as Guerilla Games have stated that the developers have shifted their focus to other projects
Jason Schreier, journalist and author, told Spawn Wave’s Spawncast that the inevitable Horizon 3 “...might be a ways off.” He further added that “Guerrilla is an interesting place, because they’re working on this Horizon online game that... I’m not sure how many people want that.”
This creates another glaring issue with PlayStation’s incessant need for live-service projects. Horizon Online has no formal announcements as of yet, but with so many failures from Sony’s live-service catalog, it bodes a grim future for the company.
We can only speculate that Horizon Online will include a live-service business model similar to the likes of the now canned Last of Us Factions. Besides, there is a lot of lore to unpack in Guerilla’s far-flung post-apocalyptic world. Imagine a PvE game along the vein of Arrowhead’s Helldivers II.
“They’ve got this [Horizon Zero Dawn] remaster coming and the Lego game [Lego Horizon Adventures] coming. What happens if neither of those hit, and it turns out there isn't a ton of interest in Horizon anymore? Are they still gonna be doing the online game?” Said Jason, further adding confusion to Guerilla and Sony’s decisions.
The topic of Remakes and Remasters have been met with criticism over the years as Sony continues to re-release games that just came out at the height of their graphical prowess. Known examples include the Last Of Us Part II Remastered and the Horizon: Zero Dawn Remastered.
Sony has also faced numerous backlashes over the course of weeks, this includes scrapping Concord from PlayStation stores and the baffling price range for the PlayStation 5 Pro.
Of course it is not all bad at PlayStation. The recent State of Play unveiled a few notable games that could spark new interest in the console. Games such as the Ghost of Tsushima sequel, Ghost of Yotei, could definitely add numbers to Sony’s sales numbers.
Astro Bot was also a major success for Sony. Team ASOBI’s beloved platformer received numerous praise for its love-letter to gaming. It includes numerous cameos from iconic games such as LocoRoco, Uncharted, God of War, and so much more.
Horizon 3 unfortunately has a long way to go. Aloy’s next journey after Horizon: Forbidden West still remains a mystery, but fans of the series know where it could go next. A worldwide tour? Or into the depths of space?
Horizon Online is an odd move from Guerilla and Sony, but who knows? Maybe this one could be the hit they needed.