(Bloomberg) — Sony Corp. has delayed the upcoming PlayStation game Horizon Forbidden West to the first quarter of 2022, according to a person familiar with the matter. Previously it had been scheduled for release this holiday season.
Horizon Forbidden West is an open-world action-adventure game and the sequel to the critically acclaimed PlayStation 4 exclusive Horizon Zero Dawn, which sold more than 10 million copies following its release in 2017. The sequel is planned for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles.
The setback is the latest in a year that has been full of delays across the industry, including one of Sony’s other big PlayStation exclusives, the untitled sequel to 2018’s God of War. Covid-19 has caused production challenges, forcing developers to work from home for months, but the pandemic has also provided a cover for developers to bump games that were facing obstacles regardless.
In June, PlayStation Studio head Hermen Hulst said the game’s holiday release date was tentative. “For Horizon, we think we are on track to release this holiday season,” he said on the PlayStation blog. “But that isn’t quite certain yet, and we’re working as hard as we can to confirm that to you as soon as we can.”
Sony didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. News of a possible Horizon delay was first mentioned by video game reporter Jeff Grubb on the podcast Giant Bomb.
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