Guerrilla Games' Horizon Multiplayer: A Million-Player Ambitions or a Preemptive Strike?

Guerrilla Games' upcoming Horizon multiplayer game is generating considerable buzz, with recent indications suggesting either incredibly high player expectations or a proactive approach to prevent launch-day server issues. A recent job posting for a Senior Platform Engineer highlights a requirement for "proven experience building and operating multi-service, 1M+ user globally distributed systems." This suggests either a confident projection of over one million players or a strategic move to ensure a smooth launch.

Since Horizon Forbidden West's release in 2022 and its Burning Shores DLC, Guerrilla has remained relatively quiet, focusing on collaborations for projects like Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered and LEGO Horizon Adventures. However, evidence pointing towards a Horizon multiplayer game has been accumulating since at least 2018, with various job listings hinting at its existence.

While the official announcement remains pending, the job posting's emphasis on a million-plus user infrastructure is noteworthy. This robust live-service system could be designed to handle a massive player base from the outset.

Alternatively, this could be a preventative measure, learned from the experience of other games. Helldivers 2's launch was hampered by server overload due to unexpected high demand. Guerrilla might be aiming to avoid a similar scenario, ensuring a seamless player experience regardless of the game's actual popularity.

The Horizon multiplayer game has been in development for years. Considering this, and a previous job listing suggesting a new Horizon game release in 2025, it's plausible that the multiplayer title is poised for a reveal this year, assuming development is progressing smoothly. With a third mainline Horizon entry still some time away, the 2025 release could very well be this highly anticipated multiplayer project.