Killzone is Getting a Sequel Sooner Than Expected Due to Horizon Struggles

Guerrilla Games is reportedly shifting their focus away from its massive Horizon franchise and reviving one of its dormant shooter series for a fresh outing.

According to MP1st, a new project in the Killzone series has entered the early stages of production at a third-party partner studio of Guerrilla Games. The title is believed to be a remake or remaster of an earlier title in the franchise which was dubbed the “Halo killer” by Sony, though never quite managed to live up to its lofty moniker.

Sources for the outlet report that it is currently unknown which title is getting a modern makeover, but it is assumed to be the first entry in the series, released all the way back in 2004 on PS2. Third-party studio People Can Fly is believed to be developing the title after the studio signed a deal with PlayStation to develop a game based on an existing platform IP, codenamed Delta. The Killzone return was supposed to come after Guerrilla completed work on its Horizon Hunter's Gathering title, but setbacks have meant that plans have changed.

Killzone Back From The Dead?

A new game in the Killzone franchise would arrive after years of quiescence, having not seen any activity since 2013’s Killzone: Shadow Fall on PS3. The game received positive feedback from critics and players and its online servers ran for many years, finally closing in August 2022.

Killzone’s return would also fit nicely into PlayStation’s family of IPs as a strong first-person shooter. Sony has essentially lacked an exclusive, high-end FPS since mothballing Killzone more than a decade ago, and it would certainly help compete against Microsoft’s control of the Call of Duty franchise after it acquired Activision Blizzard in 2023.

If nothing else, it would help give Sony some much-needed genre diversity on PlayStation before it launches the PS6 in the coming years, especially as the risk of major franchises going platform-exclusive increases with the recent onslaught of studio buyouts and takeovers.

Since then, Guerrilla has been truly championing its Horizon series with the backing of Sony—the first title, Horizon: Zero Dawn, was a huge hit on PS4 and spawned a well-received sequel in 2022 on PS5. However, it’s not all been smooth sailing.

Horizon Fights An Uphill Battle on PlayStation

The news comes after Guerrilla has faced a somewhat grueling time with its Horizon franchise as of late. The sci-fi action-adventure IP is one of the shiniest jewels in PlayStation’s crown, but has recently struggled to fit into the modern gaming landscape and diversify away from single-player adventures.

A planned live-service title, Horizon Hunter’s Gathering, recently had its development completely restarted by publisher Sony after negative player feedback during a closed beta earlier this year. The game was hoped to be a major push by Sony into the thriving live-service market, where the money pretty much prints itself—that is, if you can get picky fans onboard first.

After the closed beta, players shared their feedback online in their droves. Horizon Hunter’s Gathering features cartoonish graphics akin to Fortnite: a far cry from previous Horizon entries, which heavily prioritized environmental realism and graphical prowess on the powerful PlayStation 5 console. Many felt this shift in artistic direction diluted the strong brand identity constructed by Horizon titles heretofore.

[The Horizon franchise] is one of the shiniest jewels in PlayStation’s crown, but has recently struggled to [...] diversify away from single-player adventures.

Players also reported that the game’s missions and objectives featuring monster hunts felt repetitive, entirely transactional and lacked depth. With many studios desperate to churn out a live-service game to help fund their lengthy game developments, fatigue with the genre has largely set in and players are seeking more single-player experiences.

Reports indicate that Guerrilla had shifted most of its staff away from developing a long-desired sequel to 2022’s Horizon: Forbidden West to work on the live-service game—something which irked fans to no end. After the feedback, Sony allegedly ordered Guerrilla to strip the game of its live-service elements and turn it into a traditional co-op game with a dedicated story mode, on a much smaller scale than previously planned.

Where that leaves a potential Horizon 3 is anyone’s guess.