Horizon Hunters Gathering Cuts Live Service After Playtest Failure

Horizon Hunters Gathering was meant to extend Horizon into a persistent multiplayer future; it now faces a much narrower test: can its machine-hunting combat work as a contained co-op adventure? The change matters because Guerrilla’s original pitch leaned on evolving content, while the revised project must establish a compelling core loop before Sony’s end-of-December evaluation.

The overhaul began in June, following negative feedback from private playtests earlier in 2026. Live-service elements are being removed, the project’s scope is being reduced, and the new target is a traditional cooperative multiplayer game with a story mode. Many developers have been reassigned to other Guerrilla work, while a smaller group continues rebuilding Hunters Gathering. PlayStation declined to comment on the change.

That does not erase what was publicly shown in February. The PS5 and PC game was announced for up to three players, with cross-play and cross-progression through the same PlayStation account. Its campaign was described as canon to the Horizon universe and playable either with friends or solo alongside NPCs. Combat was built around tactical, reactive encounters with mechanical beasts — an approach that invited comparisons with Monster Hunter, but with Horizon’s bows, traps and machine weaknesses at its center.

Two modes illustrated the original direction. Machine Incursion centered on waves of machines emerging from underground gateways before a boss encounter. Cauldron Descent was a longer multi-stage challenge with shifting rooms, hidden doors, rewards and a stronger emphasis on team coordination. Whether either survives the reboot is unknown, as are the final player count, progression systems, monetization and post-launch plan.

The December milestone is not a release date; it is effectively a go-or-no-go review. Hunters Gathering has a better chance if Guerrilla treats the reset as permission to make a focused three-player PvE game rather than trying to preserve the shell of a service title. Until that review, its future remains conditional.