PlayStation is reportedly overhauling Horizon Hunters Gathering after weak playtests
If you were hoping to storm through Cauldron Descent with friends anytime soon, you might want to sit tight. According to a new Bloomberg report, PlayStation has reportedly ordered a major overhaul of Horizon Hunters Gathering, the multiplayer spinoff Guerrilla Games unveiled back in February. The reboot comes after the game reportedly struggled during closed playtesting, leaving executives unconvinced the current direction works.
The live-service model is getting scrapped
Guerrilla has reportedly been reworking the game since June, and the plan is to strip out its live-service backbone entirely. Instead of an ongoing, continually updated multiplayer experience, the game is being turned into a smaller, more traditional cooperative title built around a proper story mode.
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That’s a major shift from what director Arjan Bak originally described: tactical three-player co-op hunts against giant machines, a roguelite perk system for customizing your build, and a persistent social hub for gearing up between missions. It’s unclear how much of that original vision survives the rework.
The game is not cancelled, but the pressure is real. Staff reportedly have until December to prove the new direction to executives, and many current team members are already being shifted to a separate Guerrilla project facing its own year end evaluation.
A familiar pattern for PlayStation
PlayStation’s live-service dream keeps collapsing, and Horizon is the latest casualty. The company pledged back in 2022 to release ten live-service titles, and its track record since then has been rocky at best.
The disastrous 2024 launch of Concord, pulled from sale just two weeks in, remains its most infamous misstep, and Sony has also shut down live-service projects at Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games, the latter closed entirely this year.
Helldivers 2 stands out as a genuine success story, and Bungie’s Marathon remains active despite its own struggles. Sony Interactive CEO Hideaki Nishino said in June interview that the company still intends to keep backing live-service games going forward. Whether Sony’s optimism holds up will likely depend on whether Guerrilla can actually pull of Horizon Hunters Gathering’s reboot.
Sony’s $220 PlayStation speakers pack one feature I wish every desktop setup had
PlayStation finally made gaming speakers, and they do much more than blast game audio
Sony showcased its first PlayStation wireless speakers almost a year ago alongside the release date reveal for Wolverine, and now we finally know when gamers get to put them on their desks. The Pulse Elevate wireless speakers launch on November 12, Sony announced in an August 18 update to its original reveal. Preorders begin September 1 at 10 am local time, or 10 am ET in the US.
Midnight Black will be sold globally through PlayStation Direct and participating retailers, while the White edition will have more limited availability. Priced at $219.99, the company is bringing a surprising amount of the technology from its Pulse gaming headset line out of your ears and onto your setup.
New GTA 6 leaked footage shows Jason shooting hoops and causing chaos on the road
GTA 6 leaked gameplay hints at new Focus stat and more interactive driving
Grand Theft Auto VI footage has leaked online less than two weeks before Rockstar Games is expected to offer a new look at the highly anticipated game, revealing small but potentially meaningful changes to gameplay.
Two clips, each a little over a minute long, reportedly show protagonist Jason shooting hoops and driving a modified Vapid Ganado pickup truck. The footage appears to come from an unfinished build, and the original uploads were quickly removed following copyright claims. The leaked videos also reportedly carried cryptocurrency advertisements and QR codes, making their authenticity difficult to independently establish. First spotted on Reddit, the leaked footage was quickly removed by Reddit's legal team.
Beyond GTA VI: Why 2026 might be gaming’s best year yet
GTA VI has been stealing the spotlight. I don't think it deserves all of it.
There is little doubt that Grand Theft Auto VI will be the biggest game of 2026, and potentially the biggest entertainment release of the year. With Rockstar finally set to launch it on November 19, the gaming world has spent years waiting for Vice City to make its return, and I’m no different. But the more games I’ve played this year, and the more I look at what’s still coming, the more I think we’re viewing 2026 through the wrong lens.
Because GTA VI isn't what makes this year special. It's everything around it.