Overview of Recent Cancellations in the Horizon Franchise
- The much-anticipated Horizon MMORPG has been officially canceled as of late 2024.
- Developed under the project name “Project H,”this MMO was in the works at NCSoft since late 2022.
- Following a viability assessment, Sony decided to terminate the project, although Guerrilla Games continues to develop its own Horizon multiplayer game.
New reports indicate that Sony has discontinued its rumored Horizon MMORPG. This project was speculated to be the only upcoming title in the Horizon series that was not being developed by Guerrilla Games, the studio famed for creating the franchise.
Initial news of a Horizon MMORPG working title emerged from South Korean media outlet MTN in November 2022, which cited NCSoft—one of South Korea’s leading game developers and publishers—as the project’s developer. Internally, this title was referred to as Project H, though both Sony and NCSoft never officially confirmed its existence. Nonetheless, NCSoft maintained consistent job postings referencing Project H, indicating ongoing development efforts until recently.
As of mid-January 2024, reports from MTN suggest that NCSoft’s hiring initiative for Project H is now concluded. It appears that the termination of this MMORPG project stemmed from Sony’s decision after evaluating its market viability. This cancellation reportedly took place towards the end of 2024, with team members informed in early 2025 as they began transitioning to new assignments. Notably, this timing coincided with Sony’s decision to cancel two additional live-service games: a multiplayer adaptation of God of War from Bluepoint and an unnamed project from Bend Studio.
Sony’s Live-Service Game Cancellations: A Running Trend
Project H becomes the sixth live-service title that Sony has chosen to cancel in 2024. Among these, the premature shutdown of Concord—a game discontinued just days after its August 2024 launch—was particularly notable. Additional cancellations included Bungie’s Destiny spin-off, known as Payback, an unannounced fantasy game from London Studio, and a project from Neon Koi. Furthermore, a new installment in the Twisted Metal series, which was languishing in pre-production at Firesprite, was also discarded in February 2024.
Reported Cancellations of Live-Service Games by Sony
| Project | Developer | Year Canceled |
|---|---|---|
| Spider-Man: The Great Web | Insomniac | 2022 |
| The Last of Us Online | Naughty Dog | 2023 |
| Unknown game | Deviation | 2023 |
| Concord | Firewalk | 2024 |
| Payback (Destiny spin-off) | Bungie | 2024 |
| Twisted Metal | Firesprite | 2024 |
| Unknown game | Neon Koi | 2024 |
| Unknown fantasy game | London Studio | 2024 |
| Horizon MMO | NCSoft | 2024 |
| Unknown game | Bend Studio | 2025 |
| God of War multiplayer game | Bluepoint | 2025 |
Future Prospects for the Horizon Multiplayer Experience
Despite the cancellation of Project H, the Horizon franchise is not entirely devoid of future online gaming prospects. Guerrilla Games remains committed to a multiplayer title set in the Horizon universe, a fact confirmed back in late 2022. Development for this project might have started as early as 2018, as inferred from Guerrilla’s recruitment advertisements.
According to a mid-2024 analysis of job listings by Game Rant, this new multiplayer game may be aiming for a release on the next-generation PlayStation console, potentially bypassing the current PS5 altogether. Sony’s anticipated PS6 is projected to debut sometime between late 2027 and late 2028, indicating that fans may need to wait for an extended period to experience this new installment.
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