01/10/2024

Horizon Online: Sony still wants to gain a foothold in the live-service market after Concord-Gate

Horizon-Online-Sonys-live-service-Hoffnung-

Even though they have their roots in single-player games, Sony has always endeavoured to create successful live-service titles. Despite numerous attempts, this endeavour has failed time and time again. However, as an industry insider has now revealed, Sony is still not giving up and has high hopes for a Horizon multiplayer game.

Neues Horizon MMO in Arbeit – Jedoch nicht für PlayStation 5

In 20022, Sony announced that they would have released up to 12 live-service games by 2025. They are still a long way from achieving their goal, but some attempts have already failed so disastrously that this has had a more than damaging effect on Sony's reputation (Concord). However, giving up does not seem to be an option and so they are still trying to make a hit - could a Horizon multiplayer game be the solution?

Horizon Online's release scheduled before Horizon 3 after Sony shifts focus to live service

Legendary gaming journalist Jason Schreier was recently a guest on the Spawn Wave podcast, where he gave an insight into the importance of Horizon Online to Sony's attempts to break into the live-service market.
Schreier confirmed that instead of the third single-player game, Sony's next product will be Horizon Online. Not least because Horizon was neither cancelled nor flopped, like Concord.

So far, the start in the live service area has not been successful. Helldivers got off to a good start, but Concord was a disaster and a multiplayer project set in the Last of Us universe was even cancelled completely.

Horizon Forbidden West: PC-Systemanforderungen

The internal pressure on Horizon Online to succeed must be immense, even if no one can say for sure whether the project can withstand it at all. At the end of the day, the series certainly doesn't fall into the "too big to fail" category and the Horizon gameplay doesn't necessarily seem too suitable for a multiplayer mode.
So it remains to be seen when further leaks will give us the first insights and developments.

(Image source: Sony)