Guerrilla Games' Horizon Multiplayer: Aiming High or Playing it Safe?
Guerrilla Games' upcoming Horizon multiplayer game is generating significant buzz, with recent indications suggesting either incredibly high player expectations or a proactive approach to prevent launch-day server issues. A recent job listing for a Senior Platform Engineer reveals a requirement for experience with "1M+ user globally distributed systems," hinting at a potential player base exceeding one million.
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 suggesting a Horizon multiplayer game has been accumulating for years, with job listings dating back to 2018 alluding to its existence. Its development in 2025 is now widely anticipated.
While the official announcement remains pending, the job listing's focus on a massive, globally distributed system suggests ambitious player count projections. This points to Guerrilla building a robust live-service infrastructure capable of handling over a million concurrent players.
Avoiding a Helldivers 2 Repeat?
Alternatively, this focus on scalability could be a preventative measure. The overwhelming success of Helldivers 2 at launch, leading to significant server strain, serves as a cautionary tale. Guerrilla may be aiming to avoid similar launch issues for its Horizon multiplayer title, ensuring a smooth onboarding experience for all players. While the Horizon game's success isn't guaranteed to mirror Helldivers 2, proactive preparation is understandable.
With years of development under its belt, and a previous job listing suggesting a new Horizon title release in 2025, the multiplayer project seems primed for a reveal. Considering a third mainline Horizon entry is still some time away, the 2025 release could very well be this highly anticipated multiplayer experience.
