PlayStation Isn't Positive About Horizon Forbidden West's Release Date
PlayStation exclusive Horizon Forbidden West is currently on track to release later this year, but Sony says it can't guarantee it won't be delayed out of Holiday 2021. Many were surprised when Sony didn't announce a hard release date during the gameplay reveal of Horizon Forbidden West, but the PlayStation Studios and developer Guerrilla Games maintained it's still planned for 2021. It seems like that's not an absolute certainty, though, and for good reason.
Horizon Forbidden West was announced in Summer 2020 during the PS5 reveal event, giving players a glimpse at how the future of PlayStation exclusives could look on the powerful new console. Despite its recent gameplay reveal, there's still plenty of unknown factors for Guerrilla's highly anticipated sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn. Whether or not PlayStation Studios is planning to reveal more of Horizon Forbidden West during E3 2021 or other summer events remains unclear, and it may depend on how development is progressing so far.
Speaking on PlayStation Blog, PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst confirmed that Horizon Forbidden West is on track for 2021, but he admitted that release window could shift to 2022 due to issues with access to performance capture studios and talent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hulst noted that this was also part of the reason for the delay of God of War: Ragnarok, which was announced by developer Sony Santa Monica Studio earlier in the day. Casually mentioning another potential delay, Hulst stated:
"So we have, currently, two very big, very narrative-driven games in development: Horizon Forbidden West and the next God of War. And for both of those, they’re frankly affected by access to performance capture and talent. For Horizon, we think we are on track to release this holiday season. But that isn’t quite certain yet, and we’re working as hard as we can to confirm that to you as soon as we can."
As of right now, Horizon Forbidden West looks stunning and certainly looks to be shaping up nicely, though it's not positive how the game will look on PS4 compared to PS5. The uncertainty of the pandemic has impacted many high-profile games, especially ones that were knee-deep in development circa Spring 2020. Many things that used to be simple, such as the aforementioned motion-capture process, have become huge safety concerns for AAA studios. While many developers are actively adapting to the situation with success, there are many variables and high financial and health risks of a viral resurgence that continue to impact and delay big-budget games.
While some may be displeased with the idea of further delays, SIE's transparency with fans here is refreshing. Though PlayStation obviously has its money-driven reasons, telling players that even it doesn't know if Horizon Forbidden West's release window stands is the kind of honesty the entire entertainment industry needs more of. There's a good chance the game will still release this year as planned, but this approach of informative transparency could help customers better understand when or if the Horizon sequel is delayed.
Horizon Forbidden West will be available for PS5 and PS4 in Fall 2021.
Source: PlayStation