According to new leaks, the next Horizon game will be an online multiplayer, and the timing couldn't be worse. The series has proven to be quite the success for PlayStation fans, with both Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West offering vast open-world experiences with dynamic combat and almost Monster Hunter-esque enemies to fight. While the story quality fluctuates between games, there is clearly a lot of love for the world and characters, especially the incredible Aloy. Naturally, fans want more from the series, eager to explore more of robot-infested America and learn about the various factions that now inhabit it.

The next Horizon game is not a sequel but is wonderful Horizon Forbidden West ending, but while that is coming eventually, the next entry will - according to rumor - skew more towards Sony's push for multiplayer experiences. However, after the enormous failure of Concord and the dwindling player numbers of Helldivers 2, it's hard to see how Horizon Online won't be a disaster.

Horizon Online Has Been In Production For A While

Horizon Online Dates Back To 2022

Horizon Online has been in the works for quite some time, with job listings seemingly confirming the project back in 2022 despite no official announcement. Since then, Jason Schreier, speaking on Spawn Wave's Spawncast, revealed that Horizon Online will be the next game, despite not knowing personally "how many people want that." He went on to explain that "Horizon Online is [Guerrilla's] next project, not whatever the third single-player game looks like," and will come after LEGO Horizon Adventures and the Horizon Zero Dawn Remaster.

In December 2022, Guerrilla Games posted to Twitter about job listings for its Horizon "online project," explaining that while Aloy's adventures will continue eventually, for now, it is making a multiplayer experience. The listing didn't give much info about the project beyond that it features a "new cast of characters and a unique stylized look." More detailed job listings (since removed) gave further details, such as how it will "tell a deep, complex story," have a "variety of enemies (Machines & Humanoids) that focus on exciting combat with cooperative elements," and will feature "quests, factions, and backstories" (via IGN.)

Of course, all of this is framed by Sony's catastrophic push for more live service games, with a large portion of barely 25,000 sales before being unceremoniously shut down, and Sony's more successful live service title, Helldivers 2, has seen its player count dip significantly due to poorly received updates and a lack of new content. This led Sony to review 12 of its in-development live service titles, only committing to releasing six of them by 2025, and subsequently canceling Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Online.

Of course, the failure of certain titles isn't indicative that Horizon Online will fail, but Sony's track record of greenlighting bad live service titles speaks for itself. Even pedigree developers have struggled with releasing a live service title, such as Naughty Dog with The Last of Us Online, which was canceled shortly after it was alleged (via Bloomberg) that Bungie reviewed it and found it worried it wouldn't be able to "keep players engaged for a long period of time." So, what chance does Horizon Online stand when Naughty Dog can't even get a Last of Us Online game right?

Horizon Online Will Likely Remove The Most Compelling Part Of The Original Games

It Features An All-New Cast

Even putting aside the failures of Sony's live service efforts, Horizon Online will likely not work as it's removing the very thing that makes it such a compelling series in the first place: Aloy. Horizon Online will likely feature an all-new cast, with players presumably taking on the role of a custom-made character, and will undoubtedly take place in a new location Aloy has yet to visit. Being so divorced from the main story so far featured in the Horizon series means that it'll likely feel more like a side quest rather than a full-blown adventure with real stakes.

Of course, both Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West have a plethora of other engaging elements, namely the combat and dungeons. However, while they are good reasons to play these games, the story is what drives them to be as memorable and beloved as they are now.

Whatever happens in Horizon Online can't affect Horizon 3, as that would require everyone to play it, which is unlikely and impractical for those without stable internet connections or the funds to pay for PS+. That's not to say that Horizon Online won't be fun, but it won't help to further the interesting story already happening, pushing fans' hopes of seeing the setting and story ideas of Horizon 3 even further back. It also means that it can't affect the world in a consequential way, as if it did, it would have an effect on the story of Horizon 3.

So, without Aloy - the character players actually care about - and without any real stakes, what chance does Horizon Online have of telling a compelling story? Of course, stories don't need to have doomsday-level events to be compelling, but when they revolve around a large community of players banding together, they can't really be a smaller-scale personal adventure. The middle ground - which is arguably a less impactful and less character-driven experience - feels not worthwhile, especially when it's getting in the way of players getting Horizon 3.

Horizon Online Puts A Huge Gap Between Forbidden West And The Sequel

LEGO Horizon Adventures & The Horizon Zero Dawn Remaster Might Not Be Enough

Another issue with Horizon Online is that it's likely pushing back Horizon 3, as development resources and time will perhaps have gone into producing it, thus taking away from Horizon 3's production. This wouldn't inherently be an issue if the gap between Forbidden West and 3 didn't feel so long, but as the production times of Sony's first-party exclusives keep going up, it seems like Horizon 3 is a long way off. Jason Schreier mentioned during the aforementioned Spawncast interview that he believes Horizon 3 "might be a ways off," and that's largely to do with the various Horizon projects in the works.

There's the much-maligned Horizon Zero Dawn Remaster coming in late October, followed by the questionable LEGO Horizon Adventures, which seems to be generating very little buzz. These feel like meager offerings, especially to the general Horizon fanbase, who are likely not into LEGO games or replaying the same game again but with slightly nicer graphics. Should these flop, that leaves Horizon Online as the next game before the long-awaited Horizon 3, but even then, it might not happen, as Schreier explains in the interview:

“They’ve got this remaster coming and the Lego game coming. What happens if neither of those hit, and it turns out there isn't a ton of interest in Horizon anymore? Are they still gonna be doing the online game? There are a lot of questions around their strategy and around that online game that I certainly have.”

Ultimately, it remains to be seen how well Horizon Online does, but a potentially weaker storyline incapable of impacting the mainline plot without alienating some of its audience, coupled with the lack of Aloy, put it in a precarious position right out the gate. There is a good chance that it will take the best elements of the previous games, namely the combat, and make a fun multiplayer experience out of it. However, how long Horizon Online will last is debatable, and players should go into it with the expectation that, like Concord, it could get pulled at any moment.

Sources: Spawncast, IGN, X/Life at Guerrilla, SteamDB, Bloomberg