Killzone 20th Anniversary Ignored By Guerrilla Games

Killzone fans have pointed out that developer Guerrilla Games recently failed to acknowledge the franchise’s 20th anniversary on November 2, 2024. It was revealed in the past few weeks that Guerrilla has moved on from Killzone, but it’s quite odd that the Dutch studio made no public mention of such a major milestone for the dormant first-person shooter series.

Guerrilla’s tryst with the Killzone franchise ended with the 2013 PS4 launch title Killzone: Shadow Fall. While the final mainline Killzone entry accrued praise for its beautiful graphics and slick gunplay, reviewers deducted points for a lackluster campaign, leading to a cumulative 73% score on Metacritic. Despite the lukewarm critical reception, Killzone: Shadow Fall shifted over two million copies as of January 2014. However, Guerrilla ultimately made the switch to the Horizon franchise with 2017’s mega-successful Horizon Zero Dawn.

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A recent interview also revealed that Guerrilla’s decision to take a break from Killzone was intentional, as the studio wanted to refresh its color palette with the more vibrant worlds of Horizon. This already made the odds of a Killzone comeback seem very slim, but Guerrilla took it one step further by snubbing the series’ 20th anniversary. Twitter user realradec recently noted that Killzone‘s 20th anniversary went completely unrecognized on Guerrilla’s official website and social media channels, which were instead dominated by coverage of the newly-released Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered.

Guerrilla Seemingly Doesn’t Want Anything to Do With Killzone Anymore

The first Killzone game launched on the PS2 on November 2, 2004. Even though it’s the lowest-rated entry in the series, it still kickstarted one of Sony’s most popular shooter franchises and set the stage for 2009’s Killzone 2, which fared substantially better with critics and averaged a whopping 91% Metacritic score. While it’s understandable that Guerrilla has chosen to pursue more Horizon projects in the future, it’s very bizarre that the studio would entirely ignore the 20th anniversary of Killzone, a massive part of Guerrilla’s history.

After years of requesting a Killzone revival, many fans have given up on seeing any future entries in the franchise from Guerrilla Games, with their hopes only contingent on Sony licensing the Killzone IP to an external studio. This would’ve been an extremely optimistic line of thinking a few years ago, but the recent announcement of Freedom Wars Remastered from Bandai Namco shows that Sony is open to licensing its IPs if there’s a viable opportunity. Whether any developers approach Sony for the Killzone IP, though, remains to be seen.

Guerrilla Games and Sony Computer Entertainment bring you another installment in the first-person shooter franchise known as Killzone. Taking place thirty years after the events of Killzone 3, the events of Killzone Shadow Fall are set in a time of planetary colonization. The game focuses on the conflict between the Vektans and the Helghast — two rival colonist factions inhabiting a remote planet.

For 3 decades, both factions have lived side by side, separated by an enormous security wall. But now, their Cold War is about to run hot. It is up to Lucas Kellan, a member of the military intelligence unit dubbed the Shadow Marshals to try to protect the fragile peace that exists.

A new warrior for a new era of war, Kellan’s missions will range from quiet infiltrations to all-out combat. Players will need to be methodical and ready to adapt, as any misstep could lead to mutually assured destruction. Lucas will still rely on classic weapons like the M82 Assault Rifle, stA-18 pistol, and others from previous Killzone games along with a host of new weapons and tactics for fans to master.

Systems

Released

November 15, 2013

Publisher(s)

Sony Computer Entertainment

Engine

Decima

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Game Experience May Change During Online Play, Intense Violence, Strong Language

How Long To Beat

10 Hours

PS Plus Availability

Extra & Premium

OpenCritic Rating

Fair

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