Can Horizon make a place for itself on the big screen?

At CES this week, Sony announced the addition more video games Including Guerrilla Games, already quite a list of adaptations The horizon franchise. after intended Netflix series Sony, which went bankrupt after allegations of abuse against showman Steve Blackman, decided to turn it into a full-length film.

Among PlayStation’s first-party group, The horizon occupies a strange place. Although its two main games sold well, the series gained a bit of an online reputation as an “industrial factory” fueled by PlayStation Studios CEO Hermen Hulst, who previously ran Guerrilla. The horizon Zero Dawn. There is also a general backlash against Sony’s growth efforts whatever he can into the franchise, and The horizon has definitely taken steps to expand. Along with a third single-player game in development, there is The Bell of the Mountain VR game, at least two rumored multiplayer spinoffs – one cooperativethe other moment MMO-and last year’s double whammy spinoff Lego game and the PlayStation 5 re-release of the first game. Next to the naughty dog our end It might be the most enduring PlayStation franchise in terms of being frequently reminded that it exists, and if you know how people feel about this franchise’s tendency to not go away, you’ll know that’s far from praise.

The horizon has always been an odd duck, much to his credit when is available. Like previous first-party PS titles God of War Ragnarok or Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 came out between busy periods, but they at least had the potential to carve their own niche. Seeing Kratos and Atreus go head-to-head with a monster or two Spiders doing the same to Venom made you want to give them time. PlayStation blockbuster games and these two titles, plus our end Control your attention like blockbuster movies, whether they are shot in summer or Christmas. To Guerrilla’s credit, both are key The horizon games tried to command a similar focus, only to find their momentum completely, laughably lacking.

Zero Dawn It was released in February 2017, just three days before it went on sale alongside the Nintendo Switch The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The impact of this game can only be described as meteoric, both for Nintendo and the industry as a whole. Breath of the Wild changed the way critics and gamers viewed games from this particular franchise and open-world titles in general, and dominated much of the conversation in 2017. Come 2022, Guerrilla is released Horizon Forbidden West, it was only released a full week ago Elden Ring. as breath, FromSoftware’s gothic roguelike was a game changer that people couldn’t stop talking about and in turn sucked all the oxygen out of the room. This helped From’s profile grow in the 2010s thanks to him Dark Souls games, 2019 Ax: Shadows die twice, and a little PS4 game in the name Bloody.

So, yes, jobs haven’t always existed Horizon’s instant grace and can sometimes feel a step or three behind its open-world or RPG contemporaries. But the games themselves are good. Zero Dawn and Forbidden West were considered quite good both critically and commercially, and if anything, their ability to endure despite suffering from greater competition may have endeared them to gamers even more. The series is truly no slouch among the PlayStation pantheon—an honor that could go, depending on who you ask. Days Gone—but managed to make himself felt in part because of how different he was from his first-party peers. In 2017, at the end of that time Uncharted 4 and as those to come God of War or Marvel’s Spider-Man everyone had a built-in audience with an idea of ​​what to expect. The horizon It was a remarkable departure for Guerrilla, who spent the late 00s and early 2010s on their own series. The killing zone shooters, so the transition from military sci-fi to lush post-apocalypse was striking.

Always has been something compelling about The horizon It clearly resonated with audiences despite the series’ inclusion Native and local appropriation. Maybe it was the look robotic animals or had fun sniping off their points, or throwing out games more flirting (but still quite logical) twists into their stories. It could also be Aloy, the series boss debuting when triple-A developers launch a new, ongoing (and) run. increasingly diverse) wave major games led by women. It took about ten years and Public criticism of E3 2014 studios making games with more women… extremely disappointing, but whatever, that’s how things shake out. Partisan gave the PlayStation a first-party franchise primarily driven by Aloy’s relationship, both platonic and romantic. romanticwith women of various stripes, and this approach has since become part of the triple-A playbook.

With a solid amount of overall goodwill Horizon’s managed to build, it makes sense. But there are challenges ahead for these various projects, namely the increased risk of ongoing multiplayer games and Sony’s tendency to block its own movies. So far, the series has endured two major game rivals, but these are different beasts compared to the genre as a whole. he shuts himself up or parent company expansion of plans before (and out loud) set in stone. Everything is shaking, at least we can no Keeping Guerrilla in the loop of half a decade of remastering and remaking games? Please?

Want more io9 news? Check when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Warsand Star Trek releases, why next The DC Universe in Film and TVand everything you need to know about its future Doctor Who.