Horizon was always thought about as a multiplayer game, says studio director, which speaks volumes about modern day Sony

"There is much more to come"

I think Horizon Zero Dawn was much more of a turning point for Sony than most people really discuss. The argument for PlayStation used to be its exclusives, those tentpole games like Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank, LittleBigPlanet, the list does go on but you get the point. On the PS5, completely original first-party games feel few and far between, as Sony has joined in on the whole intellectual property above all else train that every other company has hopped aboard. So hearing Guerilla Games' studio director Jan-Bart van Beek say the Horizon series was always thought about as a multiplayer game feels like the last piece of the puzzle has been inserted.

Here's what van Beek said specifically, in referencing the just announced Horizon MMO Steel Frontiers: "From the first moment we imagined Horizon, we always thought about it as a multiplayer game. LEGO Horizon Adventures was our first small step, with Steel Frontiers we’re taking a bigger one. There is much more to come, and we’re excited to show you what is coming."

Apologies for taking a curmudgeonly attitude towards this, but of course that's how it was always thought about! Well, assuming this is true across the board. I imagine there are plenty who worked on the original that won't feel that way. The top brass feeling that way does make sense, however. Ultimately the goal isn't striving to make something fresh, but something that can keep you playing, and presumably paying, for longer.

Live service is constantly on Sony's mind, and it is pretty clear that multiplayer is on Guerilla's. Clearing up some confusion, industry secrets knower Jason Schreier took to Bluesky to say that the NCSoft developer Horizon Steel Frontiers MMO isn't that rumoured - and leaked - Horizon Multiplayer game. That one is still in the works at Guerilla, and is apparently their next big project.

But it's this reality where Horizon was supposedly always meant to be multiplayer that my feelings on the original being a turning point come from. A mobile-only Ratchet and Clank multiplayer shooter was just announced this week, for heaven's sake. As much of a farce as the Sony first-party game was, at least every now and then it would offer up something new. Ah well, at least we have Shrimp Game.