SHOUT OUT - Horizon’s sales success is a ringing endorsement for developers wanting to step outside their comfort zone

A whole new world.

By Jonathan Garrett
09/05/23

NOTE: thatHITBOX Shout Out’s are not sponsored content. They’re games, developers, individuals, or issues that we want to highlight and share purely out of interest.

“From the people that brought you Killzone”. It still fascinates and delights that Guerrilla Games, of all developers, would shift gears away from a proven first person shooter franchise and branch out into the realms of gigantic open world RPG’s. Horizon: Zero Dawn stands tall as one of the best opening salvo’s for a new IP of all time, and the subsequent DLC expansions, the VR spin off, and the barnstorming Forbidden West sequel, are a testament to their tenacity and willingness to take a risk.

We’ve seen time and again developers proving their versatility when unshackled by their publishers. Microsoft have done a wonderful job giving Obsidian the space to experiment with Grounded and Pentiment alongside The Outer Worlds and Avowed. Toys for Bob being given the freedom to expand the Crash universe and not be relegated to a Call of Duty support team is a testament to Activision’s willingness to let teams shoot their shot.

Given today’s announcement that Horizon as a whole has shifted 32.7 million copies (outside of PS+ giveaways or their high tier subs), it’s the safest bet of all time that this one will be sticking around. It’s a marquee title for PlayStation, and one deserving of its success as Guerrilla celebrates its 20th anniversary. Congratulations to the team for everything they’ve achieved.