PlayStation’s plans for ongoing live service video games connected to some of its most popular single-player IP hit another roadblock as the long-rumored Horizon Zero Dawn massively multiplier online game is in trouble. Korean publisher NCSOFT was allegedly attached to the project, but as the company deals with financial struggles, some of its planned games have landed on the chopping block.
Last year, NCSOFT and Sony announced a strategic partnership to help PlayStation “expand beyond console” to PC and mobile. The reported effort was to release an MMO set in the world of Horizon Zero Dawn, with an alleged “Project H” codename. Still, a report from the Korean publication MTN (via Push Square) indicated that NCSOFT has canceled Project H because of the company’s financial situation entering 2025. This MMO was supposed to be part of PlayStation’s push into the live service genre, which has now seen several cancelations of both announced and unannounced games.
More Sony Games Have Seemingly Been Canceled, Including MMO Based on Horizon Franchise
Sony’s Live Service Plans Seem To Be Falling Apart
Custom Image by: Tom Wilson
With two main installments, a Horizon Zero Dawn LEGO spin-off and PSVR’s Horizon Call of the Mountain, the Horizon franchise has become a pillar of Sony’s exclusive catalog. The rumored MMO from NCSOFT was just one of possibly two online Horizon games, as insiders reported that Horizon Forbidden West developer Guerrilla Games’ next big project was Horizon Online. The live service game from the original developers remains intact for now, but the MMO looks to have been quietly canceled.
Project H was sidelined by NCSOFT earlier this year, following layoffs at the company in 2024. According to MTN, Project H was canceled due to a feasibility review and the staff will be transferred to a new project. What the Project H team is working on is still unannounced, and there has been no confirmation from Sony as to how its partnership with NCSOFT will be impacted. Fans weren’t looking forward to an online Horizon game, with some speculating Horizon Online could be a disaster. With the MMO reportedly off the table, this could be a chance for the company to reevaluate its strategy.
Several Live-Service Titles Sony Had Planned Are Now Gone
It’s Unclear What Sony’s Next Move Will Be
The Horizon MMO being quietly canceled follows the confirmation of other unannounced live-service titles from Sony being canceled. In-house developers Bluepoint Games and Bend Studios had their live-service games canceled before either developer could announce what they had been working on for years. According to reports, both studios found out about the cancelation of their games at the same time fans did. This doesn’t bode well for the direction of Sony’s live service plans.
These live-service games are also holding up the next installments in fan-favorite franchises like Horizon. Bluepoint’s live service game was reportedly a multiplayer God of War spinoff, but fans won’t get that now. Perhaps this is for the best, as Helldivers 2 represents the sole success of PlayStation’s multiplayer ambitions, it’s likely more of these live service games will end up as disastrous as the ill-fated Concord. Sony could hardly withstand seeing a franchise like God of War, The Last of Us, or Horizon have its reputation tarnished with underwhelming live service games.
