The news follows several days of speculation that came after Guerilla posted new job listings hinting at next-gen development and a Horizon Zero Dawn project.
According to VGC, Guerilla always intended to make more Horizon Zero Dawn games and had plans for a sequel, but held off doing anything about it until they saw how well the original performed. Following HZD’s initial launch, Guerilla started production on Horizon Zero Dawn 2.
While HZD2 was originally planned for PlayStation 4, VGC says development has completely shifted now, and Horizon Zero Dawn 2 will be solely a PlayStation 5 game. Whether the sequel also makes the jump to PC in the future remains uncertain for now, but the sequel is reportedly much bigger in scope than the original.
Guerilla is planning some sort of Horizon Zero Dawn co-op feature too, though the specifics have changed during the course of development. It was once intended to be a separate mode, then a standalone game demo that would carry over progress.
There was even co-op concept art drawn up for it that VGC verified as legitimate, and Sony had said it wanted to both leverage Horizon Zero Dawn more in the future and take advantage of online capabilities for it.
The report also clarified a certain reference made in the DualSense reveal, where Sony mentioned haptic feedback would make actions like pulling a bow feel more realistic. It seemed a bit specific at the time, and now we likely know what it was referring to.
There’s still no word on when we might expect any kind of Horizon Zero Dawn 2 release date, even though it’s been in development for a while now. While Sony said it does not plan on emphasizing next-gen exclusivity in the PlayStation 5’s first year, that doesn’t mean we won’t see any exclusive titles at all. If history is any barometer, it makes obvious sense we will in some capacity.
The original report is on Video Games Chronicles’ website. Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Horizon Zero Dawn 2 and PS5 news as it develops.
