Horizon Zero Dawn is one of Playstation's best selling games, and rumors of a sequel have been circulating since it first released back in 2017.
With Zero Dawn regarded as one of PS4's best titles, there's no way the developers wouldn't capitalize on the game's success with a second installation. What's more, fans could see a Horizon sequel come to fruition as early as the release of the PS5, later this year.
Guerilla Games Job Listings
Last summer, the Horizon developers posted sixty job opportunities. With openings such as senior writers, AI programmers, and 3D character artists, that's nearing a whole development team worth of employment. It's undoubtedly a greater workforce than another bit of DLC like The Frozen Wilds would require.
A short while later, another job posting cropped up for a technical vegetation artist, and as fans will know, the Horizon landscape is brimming with lush flora. What makes this lead all the more compelling is the post directly mentioning the "world of Horizon" in its job description. It's not likely the first game will be seeing anymore DLC this late in its existence, so this information only goes to support the release of a new title.
Another abundant feature in Horizon is its mechanical fauna. Just this past April, Guerilla Games put its employment feelers out again. This time for a lead animator, specifically with a prominent skillset in animating animals.
The most recent posting, for an AI programmer, was almost immediately retracted. That is probably due to the fact there are no games officially in the works for the PS5.
A Golden Opportunity On The Horizon
The release of the PS5 this coming holiday season is the perfect opportunity to drop such a highly anticipated sequel. Early job listings from September and October last year suggest Horizon 2 has been in the works for some time now and could very well be released as a PS5 launch title. Furthermore, a loose-lipped voice actor confirmed the game is indeed in development.
At the beginning of October, Guerilla Games was recruiting for a Java developer. This role was tasked with aiding in the creation of an animation system, physics engine integration, networking layer, and some other tasks as well. Guerilla Games also began scouting for a lead quest designer about this time. This individual was to take on building "exciting, challenging gameplay spaces that help tell powerful stories in a rich, dynamic open world." That description certainly fits the bill for Horizon's mesmerizing universe.
All of these job listings referenced an unannounced title, but it seems highly likely the title will turn out to be Horizon 2 thanks to a leak from Janina Gavinkar. The actress who voices Tatai in The Frozen Wilds expansion let slip a few tidbits about the Horizon sequel. She was quoted, telling a fan at 2019's Star Wars celebration:
It's incredible, wait 'til you see the sequel. You're gonna die - I know some secrets! - you're gonna die.
Good Things Take Time
It's still questionable whether we will see a Horizon 2 so soon. When hype was buzzing back in February about the PS5 reveal, a second Horizon game was left out of the discussion. Perhaps this is because the game wouldn't be able to make such a tight deadline. Or maybe Sony has plenty of other tantalizing titles lined up and wants to save Horizon 2 as their trump card down the road.
Plans For a Bigger and Better Horizon
Horizon Zero Dawn garnered so much success, that the developers could very well have bigger plans for the franchise than a one-off sequel. Back in 2018, rumors were already sprouting about Guerilla working on an RPG, and given Zero Dawn's popularity, many fans believed it was likely a continuation of the franchise. Past hits such as Batman: Arkham and the Tomb Raider series went on to become award-winning trilogies. It wouldn't be unfathomable if Horizon followed suit.
The rumors of a trilogy also indicate Horizon's sequel will playout on a massive scale, and Gavinkar's previous comments certainly support this notion. The sequel is said to include groundbreaking graphics, as was suggested in the aforementioned vegetation artist job posting.
Guerilla Games has also been in search of a senior game programmer with multiplayer expertise. This employment opportunity could be geared towards a different game, such as a remake of the developer's past hit, Killzone. However, with so many job posts circulating with direct correlation to a new Horizon title, and co-op almost making it into the original Horizon Zero Dawn, it is just as likely the Horizon sequel will include some multiplayer action.
With so many rumors afoot, it is only a matter of time until fans get some answers about this highly anticipated sequel.
Source: GameRant