Horizon Steel Frontiers
NCSoft
Sony is continuing its push into live service games, most recently with some mobile announcements. The biggest is the reveal of Horizon Steel Frontiers, a new MMO made by NCSoft working with Horizon publisher Guerrilla. But it’s going to be a bizarre release for one reason: You can play the game not just on mobile, but PC, but it will not be playable on PS5.
This is perhaps the most clear recent example of just how weird cross-platform video game releases have gotten. Horizon Steel Dawn is cross-platform between mobile and PC. That means that something like Valve’s recently announced new-era Steam Machine, which can play PC games, will be able to play Horizon Steel Frontiers. But PlayStation 5, the actual home of the Horizon franchise, will not have access to it. Perhaps someday, but that has not been announced or even hinted at so far.
We are also in an era when mobile games look and play good enough so that players want to play them on their main platforms, namely PC or console. In this case, Steel Frontiers looks and sounds very cool. Here’s the synopsis:
“Set in the lands of the machine hunters known as the Deadlands, the game builds on Horizon’s signature hunting-action gameplay while introducing advanced MMORPG systems, featuring deeply customizable combat and extensive player freedom. The title aims to deliver a distinct Horizon experience to players around the world.”
And here’s the first trailer:
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In the future, if Xbox goes where it appears to be going and makes its own console with access to other storefronts, this could create a situation where a game like this could be on Xbox, but not PlayStation, despite being a well-established first-party IP. Bizarre.
PS5 is getting its own multiplayer Horizon game. Guerrilla’s next major project appears to be some sort of co-op title that, last we saw, had a more cartoony animation style than the base game, or what we’re seeing here from Steel Frontiers. I would not be shocked if you put both games side-by-side, Horizon fans may end up wanting to play the MMO more. But they can’t, so their only option would be the MP game on PS5 (and that will probably end up on PC too, as it’s Sony’s live-service philosophy these days).
I have to believe that Sony will work to get Steel Frontiers on PS5 at some point, especially if it launches and ends up being a success. If that is the plan, I’m also not surprised they’re not announcing it now, as they’d rather get players on those platforms without thinking they can just wait around for the PS5 version. But still, it’s all very weird. That’s 2025 for you, I guess.
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