Towards the end of 2024, Sony reportedly decided to pull the plug on the much-anticipated Horizon MMORPG. This project, known internally as Project H, had been quietly brewing at NCSoft, starting as early as late 2022. The decision for this abrupt cancellation is believed to have resulted from a detailed viability assessment conducted by Sony. Despite this setback, Guerrilla Games appears to be marching forward with their own Horizon multiplayer game, separate from Project H.
Speculation about the Horizon MMO began when a South Korean news outlet, MTN, announced in November 2022 that NCSoft, a powerhouse in the realm of gaming in South Korea, was developing it. Despite the rumor mill churning, neither NCSoft nor Sony went on record to confirm the existence of Project H. However, job postings referencing the project from NCSoft gave some credence to the whispers.
Fast forward to early 2024, and MTN published another report suggesting NCSoft’s hiring for the project had come to a halt. It seems Sony made the call to shut down Project H after a thorough review, marking the official end of the game’s development by the close of 2024. Most of the team involved were informed in early 2025, finding themselves reassigned to new projects. This wasn’t the only project on Sony’s chopping block; the gaming giant also reportedly axed two other live-service endeavors — a God of War multiplayer game from Bluepoint and an as-yet unnamed project from Bend Studio.
In a broader scope, Sony’s penchant for streamlining its live-service titles has been on display. By 2024, they had allegedly already scrapped six such titles. Concord, another game that faced an untimely demise, was said to have been shut down mere days after its release in August 2024. Alongside this, rumors circulated about a canned Destiny spin-off dubbed Payback, a fantasy game from London Studio, and an unannounced Neon Koi project. A new Twisted Metal installment, supposedly set for creation at Firesprite, also failed to proceed beyond pre-production stages in February 2024.
Here are some of the live-service games that Sony reportedly canceled along the way:
- Spider-Man: The Great Web by Insomniac in 2022
- The Last of Us Online by Naughty Dog in 2023
- An unnamed game by Deviation in 2023
- Concord by Firewalk in 2024
- Payback (a Destiny spin-off) by Bungie in 2024
- A Twisted Metal project by Firesprite in 2024
- An unannounced game by Neon Koi in 2024
- An unnamed fantasy title by London Studio in 2024
- Horizon MMO by NCSoft in 2024
- An undisclosed game by Bend Studio in 2025
- A God of War multiplayer project by Bluepoint in 2025
Despite the turbulence surrounding Project H, the Horizon series isn’t necessarily done with multiplayer themes. Guerrilla Games is believed to still be crafting their Horizon multiplayer experience, which they confirmed was underway back in late 2022. This upcoming title might be in the pipeline for release alongside the next iteration of PlayStation hardware, potentially arriving between 2027 and 2028.
In the meantime, those following the Horizon saga still hang onto the adventures of Aloy within the established dichotomy of machine and nature. Having already succeeded with Horizon: Forbidden West, Guerrilla provides fans with expansive landscapes to traverse, formidable robotic adversaries to outsmart, and a captivating world to unravel, ensuring the franchise remains a pivotal aspect of gaming discussions.
