Horizon Hunters Gathering is being rebooted after poor reception

Sony is reportedly rebooting Horizon Hunters Gathering following poor reception from fans of the series, prompting a major shift in direction for the project. The game, originally pitched as a live‑service multiplayer title, is now being reworked into a more traditional co‑operative experience.

As reported by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, Guerrilla Games has been overhauling Horizon Hunters Gathering since June after negative feedback during private testing. The studio is now stripping out the live‑service framework entirely, shifting to a smaller‑scale co‑op game with a story mode. According to the report, the team has until December to deliver a new milestone that will determine the project’s future, with many developers already being reassigned internally.

It is unclear if Horizon Hunters Gathering will stick to its current art style or make even further changes. Many fans of the single-player games were quick to balk at the ‘Fortniteification' of Horizon when the first Hunters Gathering trailer dropped. It might not matter in the long run though, as it sounds like Sony is now in two minds over whether or not to move forward with this game at all.

This pivot is the latest example of Sony’s troubled live‑service strategy throughout the PS5 generation. Multiple multiplayer projects based on major PlayStation franchises, including God of War, Spider‑Man and The Last of Us, have been cancelled after years of development and significant spending. Even the $3.6 billion acquisition of Bungie has struggled to pay off, with Marathon underperforming and Destiny 2 winding down. For many fans who embraced PlayStation during the PS4 era specifically for its strong single‑player output, the shift toward live‑service has felt increasingly out of step with what fans actually want.

Horizon Hunters Gathering has been Guerrilla’s primary focus since the launch of Horizon Forbidden West, leaving the next mainline Horizon game still years away, which is a huge shame, as Forbidden West ended on a major cliffhanger.

KitGuru Says: Sony’s live‑service push has derailed much of its first‑party roadmap for the PS5 generation. At this point, we've had far more cancellations than true system-selling exclusives. If Microsoft hadn't dropped the ball so hard with Xbox this generation, Sony might be in an even worse spot. 

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