Sony is reportedly steering its live service multiplayer spin-off for the Horizon series, Horizon Hunters Gathering, towards a significant reboot. Anonymous insiders familiar with the project's plans indicate that the game is being reshaped into a smaller, more traditional cooperative multiplayer experience that will include a story mode. This shift has also led to the reassignment of several staff members within Sony's game development divisions.
Announced earlier this year by developer Guerrilla Games, Horizon Hunters Gathering was initially envisioned as a game set after the events of Horizon Forbidden West. Its original concept featured human adventurers departing from a social hub to gather loot, with planned episodic narrative content, a wave-based Machine Incursion survival mode, and a roguelite component called Cauldron Descent. However, playtests reportedly yielded negative reception, prompting the reported change in direction.
According to sources speaking to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Sony now intends to remove the live service elements entirely from Hunters Gathering. The development team has been given a deadline of "through December" to demonstrate the viability of the revised concept to company executives. PlayStation has declined to comment on these developments.
This reported pivot away from a live service model aligns with a broader pattern of challenges Sony has faced with the genre. PlayStation CEO Hideaki Nishino has previously stated the company's belief in live service games attracting a global audience, yet the company has experienced several setbacks, including the cancellation of Concord shortly after its launch and the abandonment of live service spin-offs for other major franchises like The Last of Us, Spider-Man, and God of War. An untitled project at Sony Bend, the studio behind Days Gone, was also reportedly canceled. Sony had initially aimed to release a dozen live service games by March 2026, but later halved that target. The inherent difficulties in sustaining live service games, which require substantial ongoing investment and face intense competition from established titles like Fortnite, appear to be influencing these strategic adjustments.
Meanwhile, the next installment in the single-player, story-driven Horizon saga is said to be several years away from completion, according to the same sources.