Horizon 3 is Still Nowhere in Sight—Conflict of Interest Between PlayStation and Guerrilla Games

Horizon 3 has been one of those games that feels inevitable, yet somehow stays frustratingly out of reach. If you've been wondering why Aloy's next single-player adventure hasn't received a proper announcement, the answer apparently has little to do with the Horizon series losing popularity.

Instead, the delay appears tied to where Sony and Guerrilla chose to put their resources over the past few years. The numbers make it difficult to argue that Horizon has become an unsuccessful franchise. By 2023, the series had sold more than 32.7 million copies, making it one of PlayStation's most successful first-party properties.

Guerrilla has also confirmed that Aloy's next single-player story is in development, so Horizon 3 hasn’t been quietly abandoned.

The bigger issue is that the project hasn't received the kind of development resources it would normally need to move forward quickly. A major reason appears to be Sony's push into live-service games. Around 2022, the company began putting more focus on multiplayer and ongoing-service projects across its first-party studios.

Guerrilla was pulled into that strategy as well, expanding its existing Horizon online co-op project, Horizon Hunters Gathering, into a much larger undertaking. That expansion reportedly came at Horizon 3's expense. Instead of having a large team working simultaneously on the next single-player game, much of Guerrilla's workforce was directed toward Hunters Gathering.

Reports, including information attributed to journalist Jason Schreier, suggested that Horizon 3 was left with only a small pre-production team. Meanwhile, most of the studio focused on the multiplayer project. That resource gap helps explain why Horizon 3 can technically be in development without being anywhere close to release.

A small pre-production team can work on concepts, story ideas, technology, world design, and other early elements, but that is very different from having a full production team building the game at scale. The Horizon franchise was also expanding in several other directions at the same time.

Guerrilla and PlayStation worked on projects including a VR game, a LEGO title, a PC and mobile MMO, and a remaster.

None of these projects necessarily had the same purpose or audience as Horizon 3. Still, together they meant the Horizon brand was being developed across multiple projects rather than focusing everything on Aloy's next mainline adventure.

Then came another complication: Horizon Hunters Gathering reportedly ran into problems during private testing in 2026. According to reports, the game received a poor response during testing, leading Guerrilla to scale back some live-service elements and restructure the project into something closer to a traditional co-op experience.

A change of that size can have consequences beyond the project itself. Reworking core systems takes time, and the longer Hunters Gathering remains in development, the longer Guerrilla's resources remain divided. That can make it even harder for Horizon 3 to move from early planning into full production.

However, Horizon 3 may have a positive development. Sony appears to be refocusing on single-player, story-driven games after its aggressive live-service push produced setbacks across the industry. That shift could eventually allow Guerrilla to put more resources behind Aloy's next adventure.

But changing strategy doesn't instantly undo years of development decisions.

If Horizon 3 spent a long period with only a small pre-production team, the game still needs significant time to reach full production and eventually become a finished release. That's why Horizon 3 may still be several years away. 

Current expectations reportedly place its release no earlier than late 2028, although that timeline isn't officially confirmed. For now, the important point is that Horizon 3 hasn't been canceled. Guerrilla has already confirmed that Aloy's next single-player story is being developed, and the franchise still has a substantial audience behind it.

The long wait seems more tied to Sony's shifting priorities and Guerrilla's investment in Hunters Gathering than to Horizon's commercial performance. In other words, the problem isn't that Horizon 3 doesn't have a reason to exist. It’s that the game spent years waiting for the resources and attention needed to move forward properly.