Horizon Hunters Gathering release – We explain the upcoming tactical co-op action game

Keen to milk everything it can from the Horizon universe, Guerrilla Games is back with Horizon Hunters Gathering, a tactical co-op action game all about felling mighty robot dinos. With a new visual style for the series and its first foray into multiplayer, it’s certainly a departure for the series, but early signs suggest this one could be a bit of a hoot.

With the game freshly announced, we now have access to the first flurry of details, including a first look at it in action. Here, VideoGamer will walk you through everything you need to know about Guerrilla Games’ upcoming Horizon Hunters Gathering.

Horizon Hunters Gathering release date

Guerilla Games and PlayStation have yet to confirm a release date or even field a vague release window, leaving us very much in the dark about when to expect Horizon Hunters Gathering to launch. 

In a PlayStation.Blog post to accompany the game’s announcement, game director Arjan Bak revealed upcoming closed playtests, available through the PlayStation Beta Program on both PS5 and PC, with the first one scheduled for the end of February. This suggests development is at an advanced stage, and we don’t expect to wait years for this one.

Speaking speculatively, we expect this one to launch in 2026 or at the very latest in 2027. We’ll keep an eye out for firm confirmation from Guerrilla Games and PlayStation.

Horizon Hunters Gathering gameplay and story

Guerilla Games has confirmed that Horizon Hunters Gathering is set in the Horizon universe, taking place after the events of Horizon Forbidden West. Guerilla Games is keeping details of the story under wraps for the moment, but it has confirmed it is fully canon within the Horizon universe and continues the fight against hostile machines that spearheaded the mainline entries.

Described as a cooperative action game, Horizon Hunters Gathering sets you up in a team of three hunters to fight deadly machines. Guerrilla explains that the combat is “tactical, reactive, and deeply skill-based, building on the tactical precision of the Horizon games while embracing the dynamics of team play.”

The central loop will focus on replayable hunts bundled into different game modes. For now, we know of two. The first is Machine Incursion, a wave-based mission where players must take out machines emerging from gateways before facing a boss. The second is Cauldron Descent, a longer format, multi-stage hunt set in a succession of changing rooms with different threats and rewards. 

The game will feature a roster of Hunters with distinct skills, weapons, and fighting styles, including melee and ranged options. Alongside is a rogue-lite perk system that allows for a degree of buildcrafting.

At a central social hub, aptly named Hunters Gathering, players can interact with others, squad up, customize their hunters, visit shops, and tweak and improve gear.

Horizon Hunters Gathering trailers

Guerrilla Games and PlayStation have released three trailers so far, all in one fell swoop in early February 2026. The first is an official announcement cinematic trailer. 

Setting the scene for Hunters Gathering, it explains how the machines ruled the lands as guardians before turning hostile, prompting the need for squads of hunters to purge the robots for the survival of humanity, all while showcasing a fresh visual style for the series that leans more towards Fortnite than the mainline series’ sharp, polished AAA sheen.

Siding this one is the official announcement gameplay trailer. We catch groups of hunters taking on a variety of machines in different biomes, from leafy forests to snowy mountains, using a range of weapons from a bow to a massive hammer. 

It’s short and sweet, but offers a good taste of Hunters Gathering’s approachable brand of co-op adventuring.

The third is more in line with a developer deep dive, combining the two trailers above with additional footage and developer commentary into a longer form look at the co-op action game. 

It touches on combat, the world, missions, and the story that make up Horizon Hunters Gathering.

Horizon Hunters Gathering platforms

At release, Horizon Hunters Gathering will be available on PC via Steam and PS5. The developers have made no mention of Xbox machines, which is par for the course for a game developed by a first-party PlayStation studio. Sony thrives on the exclusivity eco-system, so we’re unlikely to see this one land anywhere else, at least for a long while.

If it lands as a massive success, we could potentially see PlayStation port it over to other platforms, as we saw with Helldivers 2 after its stratospheric success, but this is pure speculation, so take it with the requisite dose of salt.

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