Horizon: Forbidden Westwas announced almost a year ago, and is aiming to release this holiday season. While many games have been impacted and delayed as a result of the global pandemic, the head of PlayStation studios, Hermen Hulst, says thatHorizon: Forbidden Westis on track to meet its release goal.
Horizon: Forbidden Westis the follow-up to Guerrilla Games’Horizon: Zero Dawnthat released in 2017. Fans got their first look atgameplay fromHorizon: Forbidden Westrecently as part of a State of Play that showed off the open-world PlayStation exclusive. Many found what was shown to be very graphically impressive, making Hulst’s comments all the more impressive if the game does meet its original release goal.
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In a recent interview with PlayStation Blog, Hulst was asked how PlayStation Studios have been able to cope with the difficult changes facing the games industry over the past year. In Hulst’s response, he says thatHorizon: Forbidden Westlooks to be on track for a release this holiday season, but that it isn’t completely sure yet. He says that the team is working hard to try and solidly confirm the release date as soon as possible. Hulst also mentions the importance ofAAA single-player titles for PlayStation likeHorizon: Forbidden West, which is one of the PlayStation 5’s biggest upcoming titles.
The concern forHorizon: Forbidden West’s release came as a consequence of the pandemic, and the game’s focus as a narrative-driven experience. Narratively driven games likeHorizon: Forbidden Westrequire numerous hours of performance capture from a number of actors and crew. Coordinating recording sessions have proven very difficult for AAA titles since the pandemic started, with Hulst naming theGod of Warsequelas a particular title that has been delayed due to similar issues.
It is good news for fans thatHorizon: Forbidden Westlooks as though it will still launch this holiday season. It is not altogether surprising, as the shown gameplay did look rather complete and far along in development, but it is always nice to have confirmation that it is still on track, even if Hulst says that it is not set in stone yet. Hopefully, Sony will have an official release date ormore to say aboutHorizon: Forbidden Westsoon. It is possible that players will see more of the game, and Sony’s other numerous first-party titles, as the company confirmed that it will take part in this month’s Summer Games Fest.
Horizon: Forbidden Westis currently in development for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
