Horizon Hatred Simmers Once More As Sony Announces Movie Adaptation 1
Image: Push Square

Another Horizon adjacent announcement, another intense round of scrutiny as rowdy social media users accuse Sony of attempting to “force” the Guerrilla franchise on fans.

During its CES 2025 press conference this week, PS Productions bigwig Asad Qizilbash confirmed his department is working with Columbia Pictures to bring Aloy to the big screen. It had previously plotted a TV series adaptation with Netflix, but has seemingly changed direction after that project collapsed.

But as was the case with the reveal of LEGO Horizon Adventures and various other projects related to the property, it’s been instantly met with a wave of negativity.

Even our own article on the announcement was not safe, as the platform holder was accused of trying to “brute force” the franchise’s popularity by one reader.

But the most intense criticism has emerged on the ever-optimistic social media platforms, like X (or Twitter) and Bluesky.

“I am convinced that Sony mistakes Horizon’s sales for enthusiasm about the IP and I don’t think they’re the same thing,” journalist Imran Khan curiously opined. “I think a movie could find an audience with new fans maybe.”

As of 2023, the Horizon franchise had sold over 32 million copies, spanning Horizon Zero Dawn and its sequel Horizon Forbidden West. It’s since received two spin-offs in the form of PSVR2 launch title Horizon Call of the Mountain and the aforementioned family-friendly outing LEGO Horizon Adventures. The original game was also remastered for the PS5 late last year.

The insinuation that people spending their money to buy and play the games is a case of mistaken “enthusiasm” is bizarre to us, but this kind of discourse is par for the course for the action RPG.

We’re not even convinced Sony is “pushing the IP down our throats”, like is so often insinuated. Four games in eight years does not seem entirely unreasonable to us, especially when two of them are spin-offs.

We appreciate there’s a multiplayer instalment in the works, and rumours of other related projects, but they don’t really count until they’re officially announced. We also know there have been expansions, ports, and remasters, but this just seems typical for every major franchise these days.

Some argue that PlayStation CEO Hermen Hulst, who climbed the corporate ranks from managing director of Guerrilla, gives the franchise preferential treatment due to his career trajectory. But there’s really no evidence to support the idea the series is getting greater internal support than any of Sony’s other hits, like The Last of Us or God of War.

To be honest, this narrative is really beginning to wear us down. We accept Horizon, like any entertainment product, has its critics – and that’s fine.

But we don’t need to hear the same old arguments every single time a new associated project is announced. If you don’t like Horizon and don’t want to engage with it, just ignore it. If it truly is as bad as social media says it is, the sales will collapse and it will go away.

Until then, there’s millions of people around the world who like Aloy and the Guerrilla series.

Is Sony milking the Horizon franchise? (1,688 votes)

  1. Yes, it's time for something new now%
  2. Eh, maybe tone it down a bit%
  3. Nah, the series is getting the support it deserves%