Horizon 3 is probably gonna be a cross-gen title. Can't see SIE of today putting up potentially $300 million on a 1P AAA launch title exclusive to a system just starting its install base from ground zero.
Either that or they do make a Horizon game for PS6 launch, but it'll be a smaller spinoff they can maximize focus of visuals on, but still get it developed relatively quickly and at a reasonable budget. And then Horizon 3 proper comes a bit later when the install base has bulked up some.
I mean, let's
hope. But have you seen the leaked screenshots for early version of the GG game? It basically looked like Horizon: Sea of Thieves Temu Edition. It did not look particularly great.
So if GG's title ends up being something more wacky-looking along those lines (more refined visually but not drastically different-looking) and NCSoft's game looks the way it looks, I don't know if that's gonna sit well with PS5 fans of the IP. It'd be like when MS were yapping about the One X's power and then showcased it with Super Lucky's Tale. You have to know your game and know your audience, that's what I'm saying.
And you
can have a Horizon Sea of Thieves Edition on PS5 (FWIW I think the character in the 2nd image looks good), just not in lieu or as a replacement to something which would clearly resonate with more of the fanbase like NCSoft's game from the looks of that. I'd say another issue here goes back to SIE's continuous problem with balancing their announcements. Someone over there should've foresaw the potential blowback from PS5 fans over the NCSoft game skipping PS5 (at least at launch), and should've ensured that their game would only be announced/revealed when GG had their version ready enough to do a proper reveal as well. At the very least that's what they should've done.
Because now the prevailing perception around GG's version among a lot online is, it's going to be some Sea of Thieves/Fortnite-looking game chasing their playstyles, based off the leaked images which are widely available. Getting a statement from GG assuring they're working on a Horizon GAAS for PS5 isn't necessarily reassuring when you have those leaked screenshots in the back of your mind. Even if those screenshots were from an early test build, is it really that realistic to expect a complete 180 shift in the art style? If there were, it would've happened by now, and there should've been enough for GG to at least tease a glimpse at the state of their Horizon GAAS as it is now, to wash away concerns of perceptions formed from those leaked screenshots.
However this type of stuff requires actually paying attention to and engaging with the community in online spaces to some degree, which isn't something SIE's been good at this gen (after the second and, seemingly, last
good Showcase, not that 2023 disaster), on the whole. This is just more evidence of such. It always feels like with every announcement, something's just at least a
little off.
