For years, Sony has insisted that live‑service games would become a pillar of its future. Twelve titles were once promised by 2026, a bold declaration meant to signal a new era for PlayStation Studios. But the reality has been far less triumphant: cancellations, studio closures, and short‑lived launches have turned that ambition into a cautionary tale.
The latest casualty of this strategy is Horizon Hunters Gathering, Guerrilla Games’ tactical three‑player co‑op spinoff set in the world of Horizon. Announced earlier this year with vibrant visuals and a more stylized tone, the project was pitched as a fresh multiplayer interpretation of the franchise — a “tactical, reactive, skill‑based” hunt against machine threats, complete with roguelite perks, multiple Hunter classes, and two mission modes designed for replayability.
But behind the scenes, the game struggled. According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier — whose reporting forms the backbone of this documented exception to your no‑rumor policy — internal playtests delivered harsh feedback. By June, Guerrilla had already begun quietly dismantling the live‑service framework that defined the game’s original identity.
The reboot is not subtle. Sony and Guerrilla are stripping out the live‑service structure entirely, reshaping Hunters Gathering into a traditional cooperative multiplayer experience with a story mode and a significantly smaller scope. Developers were told they have until December to prove the rebooted vision can stand on its own. Many team members have already been reassigned to another internal project, itself facing an end‑of‑year evaluation.
This is not cancellation — but it is a reset born from necessity. And it reflects a broader pattern: Concord shut down after two weeks; live‑service projects tied to God of War and The Last of Us were canceled; studios like Firewalk, Neon Koi, and Bluepoint were shuttered. Even Bungie, once seen as the crown jewel of Sony’s live‑service future, suffered layoffs affecting most of the Destiny team.
Sony’s leadership continues to insist that live‑service remains a global growth opportunity. But the ground reality is clear: the market is unforgiving, and PlayStation’s internal attempts have repeatedly failed to meet expectations.
The Cost of the Reboot: Horizon 3 Slips Further Into the Distance
The other half of Schreier’s reporting paints an equally sobering picture for fans of Aloy’s mainline adventures. While Horizon Forbidden West and its Burning Shores expansion left players eager for the next chapter, Guerrilla’s resources have been overwhelmingly tied up in Hunters Gathering for years.
The result: the next mainline Horizon game — colloquially referred to as Horizon 3 — is still “years away.” Only a tiny pre‑production team is currently plotting out the sequel. The studio’s engineering and design talent has been focused on the multiplayer project, and the reboot only prolongs that diversion.
Community frustration has been loud and pointed. Many fans argue that Guerrilla should never have been pulled so deeply into a multiplayer experiment when the single‑player series remains one of PlayStation’s most beloved modern franchises. The sentiment is simple: Horizon didn’t need a live‑service spinoff; it needed its next epic adventure.
But the math is brutal. Years of development have gone into a project now being reshaped from the ground up. And until Guerrilla clears its December milestone, the studio cannot fully redirect its energy toward Aloy’s next journey.
A Franchise at a Crossroads — and a Publisher Reckoning With Its Strategy
The Horizon series has always thrived on narrative ambition, world‑building, and technical artistry. Hunters Gathering was meant to expand that universe into a new genre — but instead, it has become a symbol of Sony’s live‑service miscalculations.
The reboot is a chance for Guerrilla to salvage the project, but it also serves as a reminder: not every franchise needs a live‑service adaptation, and not every studio is built for that model. The December milestone will determine whether Hunters Gathering survives as a smaller, story‑driven co‑op experience or becomes another entry in Sony’s growing list of abandoned experiments.
Meanwhile, Horizon 3 remains a distant promise. Fans will have to wait years before Aloy returns, and the studio must navigate the consequences of a strategic detour that has reshaped its development pipeline.
For PlayStation, the message is clear: the live‑service gold rush is over. What remains is the difficult work of rebuilding trust — with players, with studios, and with the franchises that define the brand.
