2024 is a momentous 20th anniversary year for numerous games including Steam’s Half-Life 2, Xbox’s Halo 2, and PlayStation’s Killzone. One of Guerrilla’s earliest game franchises developed exclusively for PlayStation consoles, Killzone was a landmark first-person shooter game for the PlayStation 2 with many colloquially calling the game Sony’s Halo killer. In many ways Killzone was the franchise that put Guerrilla on the map leading to global recognition and a healthy relationship with Sony that would eventually lead to the development of the modern Horizon series. Despite this celebrated history, Guerrilla made no acknowledgement of Killzone’s 20th anniversary on November 2nd, causing many fans to worry that the first-person game series may be dead for good.
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Killzone 20th Anniversary Ignored By Guerrilla Games
Killzone fans criticize developer Guerrilla Games as it fails to make any mention of the franchise’s recently-passed 20th anniversary.
A Brief History of Killzone
Set in the mid 24th century, Killzone primarily takes place on the colony worlds Vekta and Helgahn within the Alpha Centauri star system. While Vekta was a prosperous, Earth-like planet, Helgahn was a poisonous, hostile world, causing its inhabitants to evolve into a pale-skinned race that quickly succumbed to facism bent on the conquest of other planets. Killzone 1 sees Vektan Captain Jan Templar, alongside his Interplanetary Strategic Alliance comrades, attempt to defend his homeworld from a Helghast invasion. This sparked the Second Extrasolar War, which would envelop the star system for three years.
While Killzone 1 wasn’t the Halo killer PlayStation fans expected it to be, its campaign and multiplayer were received moderately well both critically and financially, leading Sony to greenlight numerous sequels and spin-offs throughout the sixth and seventh console generations. This franchise expansion first began with 2006’s Killzone: Liberation for the PlayStation Portable, followed by 2009’s Killzone 2 and 2011’s Killzone 3 for the PlayStation 3. However, as more and more games, particularly the Call of Duty franchise, began to tackle future militaristic shooter games, Killzone began to lose its popularity and distinction among its cohorts.
The Fall of Killzone
The beginning of the eighth console generation also saw the beginning of the end for the Killzone franchise, unbeknownst to fans at the time. This generation saw the release of both Killzone: Mercenary for the PlayStation Vita and Killzone: Shadow Fall for the PlayStation 4 in 2013. A launch title for the PlayStation 4, Shadow Fall was the final mainline entry for the Killzone franchise, set 10 years after Killzone 3 in the Cold War embroiled Vekta between local Vektans and refugee Helghast. Despite Shadow Fall’s moderate critical and commercial success, Guerrilla would consolidate the rest of its workforce towards working on their new IP, Horizon Zero Dawn, following Shadow Fall’s release.
The Potential End of Killzone
In the years following Horizon Zero Dawn’s 2017 release, Guerrilla has received global acclaim for their third-person post-apocalyptic franchise, leading to the development of Horizon Forbidden West, Horizon Zero Dawn: Remastered, Horizon Call of the Mountain, and LEGO Horizon Adventures. Save for a few Easter Egg references to Killzone in Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, Guerrilla has seldom referenced the Killzone franchise following Shadow Fall. This lack of acknowledgement was seemingly supported when no Guerrilla media made any reference to Killzone’s 20th anniversary. However, official PlayStation media such as PlayStation UK’s X account did wish the Killzone franchise a happy 20th anniversary.
Guerrilla Games’ lack of acknowledgement of Killzone’s 20th anniversary may suggest that the Killzone franchise is truly behind it, leaving one of their most prominent series’ possibly permanently shelved. With Guerrilla reportedly working on a multiplayer, story-focused Horizon spinoff and Horizon 3, the game company may not have time to even work on a new Killzone game in the near future. Since Killzone was published by Sony, however, the company could possibly hire another developer to make a new Killzone game or remake the original trilogy if fan interest is shown. A Killzone revival could potentially help Sony Interactive Entertainment’s current first-party multiplayer crisis following Concord’s failure, but with no sign of such a game being in the works and no mention of the series on what should have been a special milestone, it seems more likely that Killzone will remain dormant for the forseeable future.
Killzone
’s iconic red-eyed Helghast soldiers make brief appearances in Team Asobi’s Astro Bot as the Confused, Independent, and Militant Mutants.
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.
- 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