PlayStation has formally unveiled Horizon Hunters Gathering, a new multiplayer title set within the Horizon universe and developed by Guerrilla Games. The announcement confirms years of speculation about a Horizon-focused co-operative project, but it has also triggered a strong and polarised response from players — largely due to a significant shift in visual style.
The reveal was accompanied by a cinematic trailer released through major gaming outlets, including IGN, and marks another step in PlayStation’s broader push into multiplayer and PC-focused releases. This is reported by The WP Times editorial team, citing official PlayStation communications and coverage across international gaming media.
A new Horizon experience — but not a traditional one
Unlike the mainline Horizon games, Hunters Gathering is not positioned as a single-player, open-world RPG. Instead, it is a co-op action game designed for groups of up to three players, who take on the role of Hunters tasked with defeating machines in structured hunts.
Guerrilla Games has confirmed that the title is canon within the Horizon storyline and remains set in the franchise’s post-post-apocalyptic world. However, the design philosophy departs sharply from earlier entries, prioritising replayable encounters, team-based combat and a multiplayer-first structure. This places Horizon Hunters Gathering alongside other recent PlayStation initiatives aimed at extending established franchises beyond their traditional formats.
Art direction becomes the central controversy
The most immediate and widespread reaction to the reveal has focused on the game’s cartoon-influenced art style. Previous Horizon titles were widely praised for their photorealistic environments, naturalistic character models and cinematic presentation — qualities often cited as benchmarks for PlayStation exclusives.
In contrast, Hunters Gathering adopts brighter colours, exaggerated proportions and a more animated aesthetic. While some players have welcomed the clarity and accessibility this brings to multiplayer gameplay, many others argue that the shift undermines the franchise’s identity. Online discussion forums were quickly dominated by criticism, with players describing the new look as “contrary to the core Horizon identity” and questioning why a visually distinctive franchise would move away from realism.
Strategic reasons behind the visual shift
From an industry standpoint, the move towards a stylised visual language appears to be driven less by artistic experimentation and more by structural and commercial considerations specific to multiplayer development. Games built around co-operative play and long-term engagement tend to prioritise clarity, scalability and production efficiencyover visual realism. Stylised art directions typically offer several strategic advantages:
- lower technical overhead during networked co-op play, reducing performance strain across different hardware configurations
- faster asset creation and iteration, allowing developers to introduce new content, enemies and cosmetics at a higher cadence
- greater flexibility for live-service updates, including seasonal events and limited-time modes
- broader monetisation options, particularly for cosmetic items that are less constrained by realism
This design philosophy aligns closely with PlayStation’s broader strategy of expanding franchises into experiences intended to remain active and monetised over multiple years, rather than functioning solely as finite, story-driven releases.
Critics, however, argue that these efficiencies come at a significant cost. Horizon has long been positioned as a premium, visually grounded franchise, and the shift away from realism risks weakening the brand’s core identity. For detractors, the concern is not simply aesthetic preference, but the perception that commercial optimisation has taken precedence over the visual coherence that originally defined the series.
Horizon Hunters Gathering: confirmed details
| Category | Official information |
|---|---|
| Title | Horizon Hunters Gathering |
| Developer | Guerrilla Games |
| Publisher | PlayStation Studios |
| Reveal date | 6 February 2026 |
| Platforms | PlayStation 5, PC |
| Multiplayer | Up to 3 players (co-op) |
| Genre | Co-op action |
| Canon status | Canon to Horizon storyline |
| Release date | Not announced |
| Price | Not announced |
| Free-to-play | Not confirmed |
Release date and price: what PlayStation has not confirmed
PlayStation has so far withheld any guidance on both the release window and the pricing structure for Horizon Hunters Gathering. Neither a launch year nor a commercial model was referenced during the initial reveal, leaving key questions unresolved. As a result, industry observers are weighing several plausible scenarios:
- a full-price release, positioned as a premium co-operative entry within the Horizon franchise
- a reduced-price multiplayer title, reflecting a narrower scope than the mainline games
- a free-to-play model, supported by cosmetic purchases and live-service monetisation
The uncertainty is compounded by the existence of Horizon Steel Frontiers, a separate Horizon multiplayer project that has already been confirmed as free-to-play. This parallel development has prompted questions about whether Hunters Gathering is intended to complement that model or deliberately occupy a different commercial space. To date, Guerrilla Games has declined to comment on pricing, monetisation mechanics or release timing, stating only that further details will be shared at a later stage.
How the game fits into PlayStation’s wider strategy
The announcement of Horizon Hunters Gathering comes at a moment when PlayStation is actively recalibrating its portfolio to place greater emphasis on multiplayer, live-service and PC releases, while continuing to position cinematic single-player titles as prestige offerings.
Over recent years, Sony has expanded investment in projects designed for long-term player retention, recurring engagement and cross-platform reach. This shift reflects broader industry pressures to diversify revenue streams beyond finite, narrative-led releases, without abandoning the single-player experiences that have historically defined the PlayStation brand.
Crucially, Guerrilla Games is also understood to be developing the third mainline Horizon title, which is expected to retain the franchise’s established cinematic scope and realistic visual identity. Within this context, Hunters Gatherin gappears positioned as a complementary extension of the Horizon universe — aimed at sustained multiplayer engagement — rather than a substitute for the core single-player series.
Guerrilla Games has stated that more details will be shared in due course, including gameplay systems, progression mechanics and post-launch plans. Whether the studio will respond directly to criticism over the art style remains unclear. For now, Horizon Hunters Gathering stands as one of PlayStation’s most discussed announcements of early 2026 — not because of its setting or mechanics, but because it highlights the tension between creative experimentation and fan expectations in established franchises.
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