Guerrilla Games Aims Big for Horizon Multiplayer Expansion

Summary

• Guerrilla Games may be anticipating significant player interest in its upcoming Horizon multiplayer game.
• A recent job listing from Guerrilla hints at the development of live-service systems capable of supporting over one million players for the Horizon multiplayer game.
• Guerrilla could also be taking proactive steps to prevent server issues at launch, similar to those experienced by Helldivers 2.

A new job listing from Guerrilla Games suggests that the studio is highly confident in the appeal of its upcoming Horizon multiplayer project. Although details about the Horizon multiplayer game remain under wraps, Guerrilla Games appears to be preparing for a substantial player base for this live-service title.

Since the release of Horizon Forbidden West in 2022 and its Burning Shores DLC in the following year, Guerrilla has been relatively quiet, focusing on smaller projects such as Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered and LEGO Horizon Adventures. However, evidence of a Horizon multiplayer game in development has been circulating for years. Job listings from as early as 2018 hinted at this project, and by 2025, its existence seems almost confirmed.

While the exact announcement date for the Horizon multiplayer project remains uncertain, a recent job listing for a Senior Platform Engineer suggests that Guerrilla is aiming to support over one million players. The listing's requirements include "proven experience building and operating multi service, 1M+ user globally distributed systems across multiple public cloud providers." This indicates that Guerrilla is developing a robust live-service infrastructure to handle such a large player base.

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

On the other hand, this high player capacity might be less about expectations and more about precaution. The launch of Helldivers 2 was marred by server issues due to its unexpectedly high popularity on PS5 and PC, which affected both new and existing players. Guerrilla may be taking steps to avoid a similar scenario with the Horizon multiplayer game. While there's no assurance that the Horizon multiplayer game will achieve the same level of success as Helldivers 2, it's wise for Guerrilla to prepare thoroughly.

Given that the Horizon multiplayer game has been in development for several years, and assuming no major setbacks, Guerrilla might be gearing up to unveil the live-service title soon. A few months ago, another job listing hinted at a new Horizon game potentially launching in 2025. With the third mainline Horizon entry still some time away, it's likely that the anticipated 2025 release is the Horizon multiplayer project.