Guerrilla Games Aims Big for Horizon Multiplayer

Summary

• Guerrilla Games may be predicting very high player interest for its upcoming Horizon multiplayer game.
• A recent Guerrilla job listing hints at the studio building live-service systems for the Horizon multiplayer game that can support over one million players.
• Guerrilla might be taking preventative measures to ensure that the Horizon multiplayer game doesn't suffer from server issues at launch like Helldivers 2 did.

A new job listing from Guerrilla Games suggests that the studio has high expectations for its upcoming Horizon multiplayer project. Although the game has not been officially revealed, Guerrilla seems to anticipate significant player interest in this live-service title.

Since the release of Horizon Forbidden West in 2022 and its Burning Shores DLC the following year, Guerrilla has remained relatively quiet, focusing on smaller projects like Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered and LEGO Horizon Adventures. However, there has been substantial evidence over the years indicating that Guerrilla is developing a Horizon multiplayer game. Job listings as early as 2018 have hinted at this project, and by 2025, its existence is nearly confirmed.

While the exact announcement date for the Horizon multiplayer project remains unknown, a recent job listing for a Senior Platform Engineer suggests that Guerrilla is aiming for a large player base. The job requirements mention "proven experience building and operating multi-service, 1M+ user globally distributed systems across multiple public cloud providers." This indicates that Guerrilla is preparing a robust live-service infrastructure capable of supporting over one million players.

Guerrilla Might Be Ensuring a Trouble-Free Launch for the Horizon Multiplayer Game

On the other hand, this ambition might also reflect Guerrilla's desire to prevent server issues at launch, similar to what Helldivers 2 experienced. Helldivers 2's servers were overwhelmed for weeks due to unexpected popularity on PS5 and PC, causing difficulties for both new and existing players. Guerrilla may want to avoid such problems with the Horizon multiplayer game. While there's no assurance that the Horizon multiplayer game will achieve the same level of success, Guerrilla's preparedness is commendable.

The Horizon multiplayer game has been in development for several years, and if there are no significant issues behind the scenes, Guerrilla might be ready to unveil this live-service title soon. A few months ago, another Guerrilla job listing hinted at a new Horizon game potentially releasing in 2025. Given that the third mainline Horizon entry is still some time away, this 2025 release could well be the anticipated Horizon multiplayer project.