The Horizon franchise may still be getting its own MMO spin-off, despite initial reports that it was canceled alongside other Sony exclusive live-service projects. Details about the Horizon MMO have been scarce, but according to the journalist who broke the news of several game cancelations, the multiplayer Horizon project was not on the list. The landscape of gaming is quite unpredictable right now, so anything can happen, but as of now, it looks like the Horizon MMO is still in development.
When journalist Seo Jeong-geun reported the shut-down of a handful of PlayStation productions, one being titled Project H, many jumped to the conclusion that this was the Horizon title that NCSoft had been working on. However, according to Jeong-geun, Project H had “nothing to do with Horizon.” Now that this seemingly puts Horizon‘s MMO back on the table, looking to Forbidden West‘s Arena would be the perfect place to bring the game’s future community together in the spirit of competition.

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Forbidden West’s Arena Should Be Featured in the Horizon MMO
The Perfect Stage For PvP Among Horizon Fans
In Forbidden West, players are able to partake in challenging, but fun, side activities in the Arena to become better at the game’s combat. Completing these challenges makes Aloy a stronger fighter, and as players rise up in the ranks, they are awarded Arena Medals, which can be traded in for special upgrades, like better gear and weapons. Not only does the Arena offer plenty of great prizes, it can also simply be a lot of fun to try and improve with each challenge, making it absolutely perfect for a large multiplayer setting.
The Horizon series is set to get a live-action film adaptation.
Arena Tiers in Forbidden West
- Amateur
- Intermediate
- Skilled
- Expert
- Legendary
- Champion
The six tiers featured in Forbidden West already give the devs at NCSoft the perfect blueprint for how players could rise in the ranks of a multiplayer Arena. Also, while Forbidden West makes the Arena a single-player focused endeavor, there is still a lot of flexibility yet to be explored with the location.
Forbidden West‘s Arena would be the perfect place to bring the game’s future community together in the spirit of competition.
Hypothetical Game Modes For a Multiplayer Horizon Arena
- PvP
- Timed challenges
- Mounted Machine races
- Teaming up with players to fight Machines.
Forbidden West‘s Arena already requires many of its challenges to be completed in a specific amount of time, but separating that into its own mode could present even more options for players to choose from. Putting a twist on Forbidden West‘s Gauntlet Runs by turning them into a smaller scale Arena-based race could also be the perfect recipe to make a multiplayer Horizon game bring something familiar, yet fresh, to fans. Forbidden West brings plenty of side activities for players, and the Gauntlet Runs were some of the most fun.
Despite a False Cancelation, the Fate of the Horizon MMO Remains Uncertain
For right now, the Horizon MMO appears to be in the clear, but that could quickly change. In recent months, Sony has been shutting down production on most of its planned live-service projects, so only time will tell if the Horizon MMO meets the same fate. This hopefully doesn’t end up being the case, though. Bluepoint and Bend Studio were the most recent cancelations, and it’s unclear if more games will be next.
More canceled live-service Sony games that were never finished include The Last of Us Online and a Twisted Metal spin-off. Concord was one of the company’s biggest losses last year, as the game was shut down just a few weeks after its launch.
Because of its single-player narrative beginnings, it can be hard to imagine Horizon as an MMO experience. However, if NCSoft maintains a lot of the core features that made Zero Dawn and Forbidden West exciting, then seeing these locations and mechanics being brought to a larger multiplayer setting could prove to be a lot of fun.
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