Sony’s ambitious live-service spin-off of the beloved Horizon franchise, titled Horizon Hunters Gathering, is reportedly undergoing a significant transformation following negative feedback from private playtesting sessions. The game, which was announced earlier this year to a decidedly mixed reception from fans, appears to be pivoting away from its original live-service model toward a more traditional cooperative multiplayer experience with a reduced scope and dedicated story mode.
The news comes from veteran video game journalist Jason Schreier of Bloomberg, who has built a reputation for accurate reporting on major gaming industry developments. According to his anonymous sources familiar with the project’s development, the poor playtest results earlier this year prompted PlayStation leadership to fundamentally reconsider the game’s direction. The development team reportedly has until December to demonstrate meaningful progress on their revised vision and impress executives at their next milestone evaluation.
A Stark Departure From The Horizon Formula
When Hunters Gathering was first revealed, it immediately drew criticism for departing dramatically from what made the Horizon series successful. While the original Horizon Zero Dawn and its sequel Forbidden West captivated players with their immersive single-player experiences, stunning post-apocalyptic landscapes populated by mechanical creatures, and the compelling story of protagonist Aloy, the spin-off took a completely different approach. The game featured an altered art style and genre that seemed to prioritize live-service mechanics over the narrative-driven exploration that defined its predecessors. Many long-time fans of the franchise expressed disappointment that the Horizon brand was being used for what appeared to be a trend-chasing multiplayer title.
According to Bloomberg’s reporting, the current plan involves stripping out the live-service component entirely and restructuring the game as a more conventional cooperative multiplayer experience. This would include a proper story mode and significantly reduced scope compared to the original vision. Additionally, many developers currently working on Hunters Gathering are being reassigned to other projects within Sony’s portfolio, with their futures dependent on year-end evaluations of overall progress.
PlayStation’s Troubled History With Live-Service Games
The struggles facing Hunters Gathering are emblematic of Sony’s broader difficulties in the live-service gaming space. Despite being one of the most successful publishers of single-player experiences in the industry, with franchises like God of War, The Last of Us, Spider-Man, and Horizon earning critical acclaim and commercial success, PlayStation’s attempts to crack the lucrative online multiplayer market have been marked by repeated failures. Throughout the 2020s, the company has invested heavily in live-service projects, many of which never even reached the public.
Multiplayer spin-offs based on God of War, Spider-Man, and The Last of Us were all reportedly cancelled before they could be properly announced, representing significant investments that yielded no returns. Bungie’s Destiny 2, which Sony acquired when it purchased the studio for $3.6 billion in 2022, received its final major update this year amid declining player engagement and layoffs at the company. Most dramatically, the hero shooter Concord became one of gaming’s most spectacular failures when it was shut down less than two weeks after launch, having reportedly cost over $100 million to develop while selling fewer than 25,000 copies.
What This Means For The Future Of Horizon
Perhaps most concerning for dedicated Horizon fans is what this situation means for the franchise’s future. According to Schreier’s sources, the majority of the team that developed Horizon Forbidden West has been working on Hunters Gathering rather than the next mainline entry in the series. While a small team has been planning the next single-player Horizon adventure featuring Aloy, it reportedly remains years away from completion. This suggests that fans hoping for a continuation of Aloy’s story will face a lengthy wait, potentially extending well into the next console generation.
Sony has declined to comment on the Bloomberg report, and as of publication, has not confirmed or denied any of the details. The company’s silence is not unusual, as publishers typically avoid commenting on internal development matters and unannounced changes to their projects. However, the report raises important questions about PlayStation’s strategic direction and whether the company will continue pursuing live-service opportunities or refocus on the single-player experiences that have defined its brand identity.
Expert Opinion: PlayStation’s repeated live-service failures suggest a fundamental misalignment between the company’s core strengths and market ambitions. While the pivot to cooperative multiplayer for Hunters Gathering represents a pragmatic compromise, Sony would likely be better served by doubling down on the narrative-driven single-player experiences that differentiate them from competitors rather than chasing the increasingly crowded and volatile live-service market.
