Guerrilla Games Has Huge Ambitions for Horizon Multiplayer Game

Guerrilla Games' Horizon Multiplayer: A Million-Player Ambitions or Preemptive Strike Against Server Overload?

Guerrilla Games' upcoming Horizon multiplayer game may be poised for significant success, judging by recent job postings. A listing for a Senior Platform Engineer specifically mentions experience with "1M+ user globally distributed systems," suggesting the studio anticipates a player base exceeding one million. This could reflect high confidence in the game's appeal or a proactive approach to avoid launch-day server issues.

Since Horizon Forbidden West's release in 2022 and its Burning Shores DLC, Guerrilla has remained relatively quiet, focusing on collaborations like Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered and LEGO Horizon Adventures. However, hints of a Horizon multiplayer game have surfaced in job listings dating back to 2018, solidifying its likely existence.

While the official announcement remains pending, the job posting's requirement for handling a million-plus user infrastructure is noteworthy. Guerrilla might be building a robust live-service architecture capable of supporting this massive player count.

Alternatively, this could be a preventative measure. The launch of Helldivers 2 experienced significant server strain due to unexpected popularity, highlighting the potential pitfalls of underestimating player interest. Guerrilla may be learning from this, aiming for a smooth launch for its Horizon multiplayer title, regardless of whether it achieves Helldivers 2's level of success.

The Horizon multiplayer game has been in development for years. Considering this, and a previous job listing suggesting a new Horizon game release in 2025, it's plausible that this multiplayer project could be the title slated for this year's release. With the next mainline Horizon entry still some time away, the 2025 release could very well be this highly anticipated multiplayer experience.