PlayStation has announced Horizon Hunters Gathering, the long-rumoured multiplayer take on its Horizon action-adventure series.
Developed by Horizon maker Guerrilla Games, Hunters Gathering is a co-op action game coming to both PS5 and PC with cross-play enabled. (This is separate from the mobile and PC Horizon Universe MMO that was announced last year by Korean game maker NCSoft.)
In Hunters Gathering, up to three players can team up as Hunters to fight the series’ signature dinosaur-like machines. While the art style is more cartoonish than the photorealistic mainline Horizon games, Guerrilla promises that Hunters Gathering will feature “tactical, reactive, and deeply skill-based” combat that builds on “the tactical precision of the Horizon games while embracing the dynamics of team play.” Hunters will have distinct playstyles focused on melee or ranged kits alongside a roguelite perk system.
As part of this announcement, Guerrilla has revealed two game modes: Machine Incursion (fighting off waves of enemies, including a tough boss) and Cauldron Descent (a multi-stage trial featuring ever-changing rooms). Interestingly, Machine Incursion sounds like Gears of War‘s Horde Mode, while Cauldron Descent seems sort of like a roguelite dungeon crawler.
Guerrilla says both modes will be available in an upcoming closed playtest through the PlayStation Beta Program on PS5 and PC at the end of this month. It should be noted that registration for this program is free, although there’s no guarantee you’ll be picked to take part.
Outside of modes such as these, the game will also feature a social hub called Hunters Gathering to customize characters, visit vendors, upgrade gear and link up with other players. The developer also teased a narrative campaign that will be canon to the larger Horizon universe, but it’s keeping more details under wraps for now.
A release window for Hunters Gathering wasn’t confirmed, and Guerrilla notes that development is “still early on.” That said, the developer promised to provide more regular updates and playtesting announcements in the coming months.
Notably, we’ve had some idea about Hunters Gathering since at least 2023, when alpha footage leaked. At the time, the gameplay featured Fortnite-esque character models, which we now know ultimately proved true. Previously, Guerrilla also teased a third mainline game, which makes sense considering 2022’s Forbidden West teed one up, although it’s unclear when we might get that.
The bigger question, though, is how Hunters Gathering will fair. Over the past few years, PlayStation has been investing heavily in live service games and even originally acquired Destiny maker Bungie to help ship more than 10 live service games by 2026.
However, the fruits of all that labour have been mixed so far. In 2024, PlayStation launched and then delisted Concord, a new multiplayer IP, within just a two-week period. The company has also axed multiplayer games based on The Last of Us, Twisted Metal, Spider-Man and God of War, in addition to others based on new IPs. On top of that, Jade Raymond, the Canadian producer and head of PlayStation-owned Haven in Montreal, departed the studio last year amid rumours of quality concerns surrounding its Fairgame$ competitive heist game.
That said, the company has seen strong success with Helldivers 2, which debuted on PS5 and PC in 2024 and came to Xbox consoles last year. It’s also betting on Bungie next month with Marathon, a revival of its classic sci-fi series of the same name.
Image credit: PlayStation
Source: PlayStation
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