Horizon Hunters Gathering, Guerrilla Games’ co-operative Horizon spin-off, is reportedly being redesigned after negative player feedback. Sony Interactive Entertainment has chosen to take the project back to the drawing board rather than cancel it outright.
The reported direction is a significant change. Instead of pursuing a live-service model, the revised game is expected to become a smaller-scale co-op experience with a more traditional structure and a story mode. Further background is available in this Bloomberg report, while the game’s listing can be found under Horizon Hunters Gathering.
A smaller co-op game is reportedly planned
The decision to reboot the project was reportedly made in June. Guerrilla Games has not been told to abandon the title, but staff were allegedly given until December to present a version capable of winning approval from Sony and PlayStation executives.
Many developers assigned to Horizon Hunters Gathering are also expected to move to another project. That project reportedly faces the same December evaluation deadline, adding pressure to both teams as the studio reshapes its multiplayer plans.
Why PlayStation’s live-service strategy is under scrutiny
The change comes after PlayStation announced an ambitious plan to release 12 live-service games by the end of Sony’s 2025 financial year. The strategy was unveiled after Sony acquired Bungie, the studio behind Destiny and Marathon, in 2022.
That target has largely failed to materialise. Hero shooter Concord was shut down after only two weeks, while planned live-service projects based on God of War and The Last of Us were cancelled. Those cancellations contributed to studio closures, including Firewalk Studios and Bluepoint Games.
Bungie released Marathon earlier in 2026, but later layoffs reportedly affected most of the Destiny team as well as some members of the Marathon team. The setbacks have made PlayStation’s approach to ongoing online games a closely watched part of the wider arcade and gaming news cycle.
Live-service ambitions remain in place
Despite the reported reset, PlayStation president and chief executive Hideaki Nishino continued to support the broader live-service push. In June, he said the company viewed live-service games as content able to attract users globally and wanted to help revitalise the market through first-party and third-party releases.
Nishino cited Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls as one of PlayStation’s live-service efforts. His comments were made during the same month that the company reportedly decided to rework Horizon Hunters Gathering into a non-live-service title.
The next mainline Horizon game is still years away
Guerrilla Games is also understood to have a smaller team working on the next mainline Horizon game. That project is reportedly still years from completion, meaning the co-op spin-off’s redesign may be the nearer-term test of how the series expands beyond its single-player foundation.
For players who prefer straightforward local or shared-screen experiences, the shift is a reminder that game design priorities can change considerably before release. RETROCADE readers can explore more hands-on formats in the arcade machine buying guide, browse full-size arcade machines, or consider a compact bartop arcade.
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