Report: PlayStation scales back live service ambitions for Horizon Hunters Gathering

PlayStation-owned Guerrilla Games is reportedly reworking its live-service game,Horizon Hunters Gathering, after negative playtest feedback earlier this year.

As<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-19/playstation-reboots-horizon-hunters-gathering-as-live-service-strategy-struggles?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc4NzE0MjM0MSwiZXhwIjoxNzg3NzQ3MTQxLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUSzBOVElSS1YyVjUwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJCMUVBQkI5NjQ2QUM0REZFQTJBRkI4MjI1MzgyQTJFQSJ9.W2rmW_r4vHOvYW2YsXBRftk6tzRuk5-lCzHVi21wLDU&leadSource=article-gifting” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>per a report by Bloomberg, which spoke to people familiar with the company’s plans under anonymity, the PlayStation subsidiary is reportedly stripping out the live-service component altogether. The co-op game will reportedly be smaller in scope and turned into a more traditional multiplayer experience with a story mode.

According to Bloomberg’swill have through December to impress executives with their next milestone. Many of the developers onHorizon Hunters Gatheringwill be reassigned to a different project that will also be evaluated at the end of 2026

It’s unsure how many devs have been working on the game, nor what the different project is. In a follow up social media post, Bloomberg’s reporter Jason Schreier remarked that “almost all of Guerrilla Games has been working onHorizon Hunters Gatheringfor the last few years.”

In 2024, Sony laid off 900 workers across PlayStation Studios to adapt to “evolving economic landscape,” which included Guerrilla. The job cuts reportedly affected about 40 people, which made for 10 percent of its total workforce, as per aDutch newspaper ADreport at the time.

PlayStation’s live-service efforts continue to stumble

Back in 2022, Sony told investors that it intended to make significant investments in live service games, hoping to have at least 10 such games online by 2026. A year later, however, months before announcing the cancellation ofThe Last of Us Online, the parent companydelayed six games internally, while subsidiary Bungie laid off staff.

In the time since these events, sci-fi shooterConcordwas shut down two weeks after its late August launch in 2024.Sony shuttered the team behind it, Firewalk Studios, as well as fellow subsidiary Neon Koi. Then, the companyscrapped two unannounced live-service titlesthat were in development at first-party studios Bluepoint Games and Bend Studio, the latter of which reportedly led to an unknown number of contractors being laid off.

The fate of these studios has been rocky, to say the least. Sonyshuttered Bluepoint Gamesback in February. The active development of Bungie’sDestiny 2ended in June, and at least292 employees at the studio were laid off.

It’s uncertain how the development ofHorizon Hunters Gatheringwill continue from here. According to Bloomberg, a “tiny team” has been reportedly plotting out the next single-player entry in the Horizon series, but it remains years away from completion, according to the site’s

Game Developer has contacted PlayStation for clarification on the matter.