Summary
- Guerrilla Games may be predicting very high player interest for its upcoming Horizon multiplayer game.
- A recent Guerrilla job listing hints at the studio building live-service systems for the Horizon multiplayer game that can support over one million players.
- On the other hand, Guerrilla might be taking preventative measures to ensure that the Horizon multiplayer game doesn't suffer from server issues at launch like Helldivers 2 did.
A new job listing from Guerrilla Games suggests the studio has high expectations for its upcoming Horizon multiplayer project. Although the game remains unannounced, Guerrilla appears to anticipate significant player interest in 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 like Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered and LEGO Horizon Adventures. However, evidence of a Horizon multiplayer game has been accumulating for years. Job listings from as early as 2018 have hinted at this project, and by 2025, its existence is almost confirmed.
While the announcement date for the Horizon multiplayer project remains uncertain, a recent job posting for a Senior Platform Engineer suggests ambitious goals for player engagement. The job requirements mention "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 capable of supporting over one million players.
Guerrilla Might Be Ensuring a Trouble-Free Launch for the Horizon Multiplayer Game
Conversely, these plans might reflect more of a precautionary approach rather than an expectation. The aim could be to prevent server issues during the game's launch, similar to what happened with Helldivers 2. That game's servers were overwhelmed for weeks due to its unexpectedly high popularity on PS5 and PC, affecting both new and existing players. Guerrilla likely wants to avoid such problems with the Horizon multiplayer game. Although there's no guarantee the game will achieve the same level of success as Helldivers 2, it's prudent 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 reveal the live-service title this year. A few months ago, another job listing hinted at a new Horizon game potentially launching in 2025. With the third mainline Horizon game still some time away, the anticipated 2025 release could indeed be the Horizon multiplayer project.
