Sony has at last, after years of rumors, revealed Horizon Steel Frontiers, an MMORPG set in the Horizon universe. At one point, not long after Horizon Forbidden West was released, it looked as if the franchise was poised to expand in every direction, from spin-offs to a Netflix streaming series, but it didn’t take long for various projects to either be cancelled or just fall off the radar, and this new title was among those projects. Horizon Steel Frontiers will allow players to pick from familiar tribes in the franchise to hunt machines together using familiar gameplay mechanics in an open world area called the Deadlands.
“Set in the lands of the machine hunters known as the Deadlands, the game builds on Horizon’s signature hunting-action gameplay while introducing advanced MMORPG systems, featuring deeply customizable combat and extensive player freedom. The title aims to deliver a distinct Horizon experience to players around the world.”
-Sony
According to the official website, teams will be able to take down machines in “large-scale raids” using an advanced combat system. The new location is said to be inspired by environments seen in Arizona and New Mexico and will support engagement from thousands of players who will also be able to fully customize their characters, similar to features seen in the Horizon games.
The MMORPG will be playable on PC via NVSoft’s Purple platform, iOS, and Android, but strangely enough, the game has not been announced for PlayStation, where the franchise originated. Perhaps Sony has something else in mind for its consoles. The developers have yet to announce a release date, but given the content in the above videos, it does look as if the game will launch soon. Sony has said that more information will gradually be made available via the game’s website. Meanwhile, fans are no doubt anxiously awaiting word of a follow-up to Forbidden West, given the trilogy-style setting of the first two games and the somewhat epic cliffhanger of the second title released in 2022. On a side note, the above 10-minute announcement video has racked up over 330,000 views in just 9 hours.