Horizon Hunters Gathering Reportedly Rebooted Without Live-Service Elements - and the Next Mainline Horizon Game Is Years Away

PlayStation’s live-service retreat has reportedly claimed another high-profile victim, and this time it is one of its most beloved single-player franchises. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Guerrilla Games is rebooting Horizon Hunters Gathering, the co-op Horizon spinoff announced earlier this year, after negative playtest feedback. The same report delivers a second blow for Horizon fans: the next mainline entry in the series is still “years away.” With Sony and Guerrilla remaining silent, here is everything we know about this surprising and still unconfirmed turnaround.

The Report: What Happened to Horizon Hunters Gathering?

Bloomberg reported on August 19, 2026, citing unnamed sources, that Horizon Hunters Gathering is being rebooted by developer Guerrilla Games. The game was officially announced just months earlier, on February 5, 2026, as a three-player co-op action game for PS5 and PC, with the first closed playtest beginning that same month. The official PlayStation Blog announcement described it as Guerrilla’s first multiplayer project, a title that had been in development for years.

The reboot reportedly follows negative feedback from playtests, with Guerrilla reworking the project since June 2026. Different outlets have described the situation as a “reboot,” an “overhaul,” and a “total reinvention,” all tracing back to the same Bloomberg report. Neither Sony nor Guerrilla has commented publicly, meaning every detail should be treated as a reported claim rather than official confirmation. The Bloomberg article itself frames the news with a blunt headline: “PlayStation Reboots Horizon Hunters Gathering as Live-Service Strategy Struggles.”

Why This Matters: Sony’s Live-Service Strategy Keeps Unraveling

Bloomberg frames the reboot as further evidence that PlayStation’s live-service push is struggling, noting that Sony has canceled or rebooted most of its live-service multiplayer projects in recent years. This follows high-profile setbacks like Concord’s rapid shutdown shortly after launch and the cancellation of the long-rumored The Last of Us multiplayer project.

Horizon was supposed to be one of Sony’s strongest single-player franchises, with Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West both earning critical acclaim and commercial success. Seeing the IP pulled apart by live-service ambition sends a significant signal. Some French coverage of the news has described it as part of “the great shipwreck” of PlayStation’s live-service strategy, and it is difficult to argue with the characterization.

The broader takeaway is clear: even Sony’s biggest IPs are not immune to the industry-wide retreat from live-service games. Publishers spent years chasing the model proven by Fortnite and Destiny 2, but the pendulum is swinging back, and Horizon has become the latest casualty.

What Changed: From Live-Service Co-Op to Traditional Multiplayer

Horizon Hunters Gathering was originally pitched as a three-player co-op action game, with players squadding up to hunt robotic creatures across the wilderness. The official Steam listing described teams of three, but industry reports consistently characterized the pre-reboot version as live-service, with ongoing systems and monetization baked into the design.

The reported overhaul changes course. According to Bloomberg, the project is being scaled back into a smaller, more traditional co-op multiplayer game with a story mode, stripping out live-service elements. That could mean fewer seasonal mechanics, no battle passes, and a less persistent progression structure, though no specifics have been confirmed by either Sony or Guerrilla. The team appears to be listening to player feedback, but how much of the original vision will survive the rework remains an open question.

One of the most discussed elements of the original reveal was its art style. The cartoony, colorful aesthetic was a deliberate departure from the photorealistic mainline games, and it drew immediate comparisons to Capcom’s Monster Hunter. Some players embraced the lighter tone; others questioned whether it would find an audience among fans expecting the gritty, cinematic feel of Aloy’s adventures.

The Fallout: What This Means for the Horizon Franchise

Bloomberg’s report also states that the next mainline Horizon game is “years away,” though this detail has not been independently corroborated by other outlets, so it should be treated cautiously as a reported claim rather than established fact. Still, for fans hoping to see more of Aloy’s story anytime soon, it is a sobering headline.

Horizon is currently being expanded on multiple fronts. Hunters Gathering is not the only multiplayer project in the pipeline: NCSoft is also working on Horizon: Steel Frontiers, a separate online title that appears to target a different audience. Having two multiplayer Horizon games in development suggests Sony sees the franchise as a pillar of its live-service ambitions, which makes the reported reboot of Hunters Gathering all the more telling.

With the mainline series far off and the co-op spinoff in flux, the franchise’s immediate future looks more fragmented and uncertain than ever. The reboot could ultimately be an opportunity for Guerrilla to recalibrate and deliver something players actually want, but it also risks further delaying any clear, public-facing Horizon content that fans can rally around.

What Happens Next: Open Questions and What to Watch For

Sony and Guerrilla have not issued a statement, and an official response could confirm, clarify, or complicate the Bloomberg report. Until then, several questions remain unanswered.

Will Horizon Hunters Gathering be re-revealed with a new name, a new art style, or a fundamentally different gameplay direction? Can Guerrilla successfully pivot the project without losing the co-op audience that the original announcement attracted? How will this affect Horizon: Steel Frontiers and the other PlayStation multiplayer projects currently in development? And the biggest question of all: does this signal a permanent strategic shift for Sony away from live-service games, or just a temporary pause?

PlayStation has not publicly abandoned its multiplayer ambitions. Projects like Marathon and Fairgame$ are still on the horizon, and Sony’s acquisition of Bungie was driven at least in part by live-service expertise. But the pattern of cancellations and reboots suggests a studio in recalibration, one that is learning the hard way that its audience may value focused single-player experiences over ongoing online worlds.

A Horizon Without a Horizon

If the Bloomberg report is accurate, Horizon Hunters Gathering is just the latest casualty of Sony’s live-service retreat, and one that hits close to home for fans of a beloved single-player franchise. The reported reboot could ultimately produce a better game, one that respects the co-op premise without chasing live-service trends. A smaller, story-driven co-op experience might be exactly what Guerrilla needs to win back skeptical players.

But until Guerrilla or Sony speaks up, the status of this project, and the future of Horizon as a whole, remains officially unclear. The game announced with such fanfare in February is reportedly no more in the form it was presented, and the next mainline entry is nowhere in sight. For now, the only certainty is that Horizon’s next chapter will be very different from what was unveiled earlier this year.