Most PlayStation Live Service games have been canceled, but Horizon Online is next

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered screenshot — Horizon Zero Dawn is being remastered (Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Guerrilla Games’ next project is an online multiplayer game set in the Horizon universe, but an insider suggests this is one of the few live service titles from Sony that hasn’t been canceled.

Between the success of Helldivers 2 and the failure of Concord, it’s hard to guess whether Sony’s push for more live service games will continue as planned or if the publisher will start to lose faith in the concept.

For all the talk of twelve live service games by 2026, the only new titles announced are Bungie’s reboot of Marathon, which is still in development despite recent layoffs at the studio, and Haven Studios’ heist-themed shooter Fairgame$.

There has also been a wealth of rumors and leaks surrounding a Horizon multiplayer spin-off. Now a reliable insider has claimed that this Horizon project is the main priority for developer Guerrilla Games, ahead of a new third single-player entry in the series.

When will Horizon 3 release on PS5?

Speaking about Guerrilla Games on the Spawn Wave podcast, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier said: “Horizon Online is their next project, not what the third single-player game looks like – that could be some way off.”

He also provided insight into Sony’s commitment to the live service gamble, adding: “PlayStation’s live service initiative was no joke, everyone was like… it’s live service games everywhere, and Horizon is one of the few that haven’t been canceled or haven’t come out and flopped like Concord did… so there’s a lot of questions here, but there’s a lot of people working on that online project.”

Is Sony still making live service games?

While it’s never been clear exactly how many live service games Sony has had in active development, an online spin-off for The Last Of Us was officially axed last December when developer Naughty Dog shifted priority back to single-player games.

A Twisted Metal live service game was also apparently shelved as part of Sony’s February layoffs, among other unannounced projects. While there has been some speculation that Fairgame$ may have also been canceled, recent rumors suggest that internal testing was “very positive.”

It wouldn’t be a surprise to learn that Sony is focusing more on live service games, as there has been intense speculation that the departure of PlayStation boss Jim Ryan was the result of infighting over the direction of the company.

What is a live service video game?

Concord lasted 12 days before Sony pulled the plug (YouTube) — Concord closed in just two weeks (Sony Interactive Entertainment)

A live service video game, also called games as a service (GAAS), is any title that is intended to continue indefinitely, as popularized by long-running online titles such as Counter-Strike, League Of Legends, Fortnite and Apex Legends .

Live service titles are always multiple online games, and since they are often (but not always) free to download, they generate money through microtransactions, battle passes, and subscriptions.

They are controversial among some gamers because while the most successful are highly profitable, most fail within the first few months, wasting the time and resources often taken from single-player games.

While it’s still not clear who was on which side, if Schreier is right and multiple live service titles have been canceled, the focus may be shifting back to a more even balance between live service games and single-player titles like the recent announced Spirit of Yōtei.

While a third single-player Horizon game is all but guaranteed at some point, there are plenty of other Horizon games in the pipeline. A remastered version of the original game, Horizon Zero Dawn, will be released on October 31, followed by Lego spin-off, Lego Horizon Adventures, on November 14.