Guerrilla Games Confirms Future Plans for the Horizon Franchise

Multiple Horizon Games in the Works

During the recent Develop:Brighton event, Guerrilla Games revealed their commitment to the Horizon franchise, stating that it will continue for the foreseeable future.

According to reports from GamesIndustry.biz, several employees from Guerrilla Games shared their insights at the event. Studio director and art director Jan-Bart van Beek mentioned that they will be “continuing Horizon for a long while,” reflecting on the development stories behind both Horizon games.

While some plans have already been confirmed, there are others that have been strongly hinted at. One confirmed project includes a stylized multiplayer game set in the Horizon universe, with leaked footage appearing in January. Additionally, a Netflix series based on Horizon is currently in the works.

Although Horizon 3 has not been officially announced, Guerrilla Games has alluded to its existence. They have mentioned that the protagonist, Aloy, will be returning, and they are “expanding the world of Horizon with Aloy’s next adventure.” This quote appeared in a previous post about job listings that confirmed the development of the multiplayer spin-off. Furthermore, the cliffhanger ending of Horizon Forbidden West strongly suggests that a third installment is on the horizon.

There are also rumors of a massively multiplayer online game being developed in collaboration with NCSoft, as well as a potential PS5 remake or remaster of Horizon Zero Dawn. However, these projects have not been officially confirmed.

Given Guerrilla Games’ commitment to Horizon, it seems unlikely that they will revisit their Killzone franchise in the near future or develop a new IP. During the Develop:Brighton event, the studio reflected on their experiences with the shooter series and expressed how working on Horizon was an invigorating change.

Jan-Bart van Beek stated, “Killzone was our first IP, testing all our ideas, seeing how things worked. There were some great ideas in there, but also some that never really worked. We had this idea that was based upon franchises like Aliens, where it’s all about the bad guys and what we found out was that people still really need a hero to clamp onto and identify with. So when you’re making a whole IP about the baddies, it’s hard to do good storytelling. That was something we definitely took on board.”

Technical director Michiel van der Leeuw also expressed a desire to move on from Killzone after the launch of Killzone: Shadow Fall for the PlayStation 4.

“After Killzone: Shadow Fall for PlayStation 4, we knew we wanted a bigger, broader IP,” said van der Leeuw. “We also wanted something positive. We’d been making ruins for a little bit too long, and the studio got really excited about making nature. Everyone was really excited about robots. There were many things we could do with the same universe, different games, different styles.”