It seems that Aloy’s next adventure has been pushed back to next year, as new inside sources are claiming that Horizon Forbidden West has been delayed to 2022. Horizon Forbidden West is still tentatively set to be released during the 2021 holiday season, but July is nearly over, and the game still lacks a solid release date.
Horizon Forbidden West was announced during the initial PS5 reveal in 2020. It was later announced that it would be a cross-gen title, and would ship on both PS4 and PS5. There have been doubts about the game hitting its planned 2021 release date, especially in the face of numerous other delays across the industry, following the pandemic forcing studios to change how they work overnight. The fact that God of War: Ragnarok was delayed made people suspicious that the same was also going to happen to Horizon Forbidden West.
VentureBeat journalist Jeff Grubb initially reported on the game being delayed to 2022. Jason Schreier of Bloomberg has confirmed Grubb’s rumor, stating on Twitter that inside sources have confirmed the delay and that Horizon Forbidden West has been pushed back to Q1 2022. Neither Guerilla Games nor Sony has released an official statement regarding Horizon Forbidden West being pushed back, so the delay should be treated as a rumor for the time being.
The messaging regarding the release date of Horizon Forbidden West had been unclear, with even the developers giving mixed messages regarding its launch. As recently as June, developer Guerrilla Games reaffirmed Horizon Forbidden West‘s 2021 release date, in spite of comments made by PlayStation head Hermen Hulst in a prior State of Play presentation. If the delay is true, then perhaps the blow will have been lessened by the fact that there was never a definitive release date to begin with.
Given the volatile state of the industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic, high profile delays like this one are not uncommon. In spite of this turmoil, the PS5 has been doing incredibly well since launch, even with the stock shortages. In fact, the console recently passed 10 million units sold and became the fastest selling PlayStation console ever. If Horizon Forbidden West needs more polish, then the delay is likely for the best. It’s ikely better for the developers to push the game back now and ensure that it only releases when it’s ready, unlike games like Cyberpunk 2077, which saw a rushed release full of bugs and errors that drew heavy frustration from the community. If the developers need more time to make Horizon Forbidden West as good as it can, then they should take it, especially if it means avoiding crunch for a holiday season release.
Horizon Forbidden West is currently due to be released in 2021.
