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Horizon Forbidden West delayed to February 18th, 2022

Horizon Forbidden West delayed to February 18th, 2022

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Sony was aiming for a late 2021 release

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Screenshot from Horizon Forbidden West featuring the main character, Aloy, diving underwater wearing an underwater rebreather

Horizon Forbidden West, the sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn, has officially been delayed until February 18th, 2022, according to a PlayStation blog post and Guerrilla Games. The game was expected to release near the end of 2021, but it was clear that timeframe was more of a target than a fixed date — the game’s page on PlayStation.com had its release date listed as “to be confirmed,” and PlayStation Studio head Hermen Hulst said during an interview that the developers thought they were “on track” for a holiday 2021 release but couldn’t be sure. He also said that part of the uncertainty was due to developers’ access to motion-capture equipment and actors during the pandemic.

Sony’s PlayStation Studios, which Forbidden West’s developer Guerrilla Games is a part of, is currently involved in making a lot of games: more than 25, according to Hulst. Other titles included in this initiative have been delayed as well, like Gran Turismo 7 and the next God of War.

Companies outside of PlayStation Studios have also had some of their PS5-exclusives delayed — Arkane’s Deathloop (a timed exclusive for the platform) has been pushed back to September 2021, and Ghostwire: Tokyo also won’t see a release until 2022.

At this point, the PlayStation 5 still has relatively few games that really take advantage of its next-gen hardware, like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Returnal. With the delays stacking up, it seems like this may still be the case come holiday season of this year. How much that will affect console sales, though, is hard to tell — Sony has already sold 10 million PS5s, and they’re still hard to get due to the ongoing silicon shortage. The good news for those who haven’t managed to snag a PS5 yet is that, when it comes out in February, Horizon Forbidden West will be available on the PS4 as well. The studio says preorders will start on September 2nd and that more info will be coming next week.