Sony’s Horizon multiplayer game gets a fresh start following negative feedback.

PlayStation is rethinking its approach to Horizon Hunters Gathering. This co-op spinoff of Guerrilla Games’ Horizon series was initially announced earlier this year, but in light of player feedback, Sony Interactive Entertainment has opted to reboot the project.

According to a recent report, the new direction for Horizon Hunters Gathering will involve removing its live-service elements. The revamped game is set to focus on a more traditional co-op experience on a smaller scale, complete with a story mode.

The decision to restart development was made in June. While Horizon Hunters Gathering hasn’t been completely scrapped, Guerrilla Games has informed its team that they have until December to impress Sony and PlayStation executives. Additionally, many developers involved in the project will be reassigned to another initiative that shares the same evaluation deadline.

After acquiring Bungie, the studio behind Destiny and Marathon, in 2022, PlayStation announced plans to launch 12 live-service games by the end of its 2025 fiscal year. However, this ambitious plan has struggled to materialize. The hero shooter Concord was shut down just two weeks after its launch, and live-service projects for God of War and The Last of Us were both canceled. These cancellations have resulted in several studio closures, including Firewalk Studios and Bluepoint Games. Bungie released Marathon earlier this year but faced layoffs that impacted a significant portion of the Destiny team and some members of the Marathon team.

In the wake of these layoffs, PlayStation CEO and president Hideaki Nishino reaffirmed the company’s commitment to live-service games, stating, “We believe that live service games are content that attracts users on a global level, so we want to continue to revitalize the market through both first-party and third-party content.” He highlighted Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls as one of PlayStation’s live-service initiatives. Nishino’s comments came in June, coinciding with the decision to reboot Horizon Hunters Gathering as a non-live-service title.

Meanwhile, Guerrilla Games is also working with a small team on the next mainline Horizon game, which is reportedly still years away from completion.

Despite the layoffs affecting hundreds of Bungie developers, PlayStation remains committed to pursuing live-service games.