PlayStation's Live-Service Rethink
PlayStation's Horizon Hunters Gathering Reboots as Co-op Story Game Amid Live-Service Rethink
Key Points
During the May 22–25 closed test, Guerrilla expanded Horizon Hunters Gathering with new Hunters, tougher difficulties, another region, and an Episode set in Ashwater Valley, signaling a significant scope and content shift even before the broader pivot.
Cross-play and cross-progression between PS5 and PC were confirmed in the project’s development, indicating the original multiplayer design included platform-wide interoperability.
Sony had not publicly disclosed a release date or price for Horizon Hunters Gathering, underscoring the project’s unsettled status amid the rework.
Staff assigned to Horizon Hunters Gathering are expected to be reassigned to other projects, and executives have set a December 2026 deadline to demonstrate viability and progress.
The broader PlayStation live-service strategy has faced turbulence, including Concord’s closure and Bluepoint’s cancellation, even as Helldivers 2 performs well and Marathon remains active guidance for future live-service efforts.
Guerrilla Games is rebooting Horizon Hunters Gathering after players responded poorly during closed testing, according to Bloomberg. The studio is stripping out its live-service elements and rebuilding the game as a smaller, story-driven co-op experience.
The pivot marks another stumble for Sony's live-service push. The company has given the team until December 2026 to show the new direction can work, Insider Gaming reported. Staff on the project are expected to be moved to other games in the meantime.
Playtest Feedback Forced a Full Rebuild in June
Guerrilla ran a closed test between May 22 and 25. Players got new Hunters, harder difficulty options, an extra region, and an Episode set in Ashwater Valley. But the feedback was negative enough to trigger a rethink, Eurogamer reported. The reboot began in June 2025.
The original design was a three-player co-op live-service game. Live-service means ongoing updates, seasons, and content drops — think Fortnite or Destiny. The new plan moves away from that model entirely, toward a single story mode with traditional co-op play and a much smaller scope, according to GamingBolt.
December Deadline Puts the Whole Project on the Line
Sony executives have set a hard deadline: the team must show real progress by December 2026. If they can't prove the new direction works, the project could be shelved. Staff currently on Hunters Gathering are expected to shift to other Guerrilla or PlayStation projects while the core team rebuilds, Insider Gaming reported.
Sony had never announced a release date or price for the game. That unsettled status makes the reboot easier to execute quietly. Neither Sony nor Guerrilla has publicly confirmed any of the reported changes, according to Eurogamer.
Sony's Live-Service Ambitions Keep Running Into Walls
Hunters Gathering is not Sony's first live-service stumble. Concord, a hero shooter, launched in August 2024 and was shut down just two weeks later after poor sales. Bluepoint Games also had a live-service project cancelled. These failures have forced Sony to rethink how many of these games it can realistically support, Tech4Gamers reported.
Not every Sony live-service bet has failed. Helldivers 2 became a massive hit in early 2024. Marathon, Bungie's upcoming extraction shooter, is still in active development and serves as Sony's main live-service hope going forward, according to GamingBolt.
Cross-Play Plans Show How Far the Game Has Shifted
Before the reboot, Hunters Gathering was built with cross-play and cross-progression between PS5 and PC. That means players on both platforms could team up and share progress. Those features signaled a big, long-term multiplayer investment — the kind that fits a live-service model, Archynetys noted.
The shift to a smaller, story-focused game changes that calculus entirely. A tighter co-op game with a defined story needs far less infrastructure than a live-service title built to run for years. The question now is whether the remaining team can deliver something worth releasing before the December clock runs out.
Sentiment
Mostly NegativePublishers
35
Articles
34
Reach
69
