Horizon (video game series)
Post-apocalyptic open-world series about machine hunting.
Horizon is a science fiction franchise set in a 31st-century post-apocalyptic version of the United States, primarily consisting of action role-playing games. The franchise has sold over 40 million units worldwide as of November 2025, making it one of Sony's best-selling first-party properties, and has received mostly positive critical reception for its tactical combat, worldbuilding, and visual fidelity.
- First release
- Horizon Zero Dawn (2017)
- Latest release
- Lego Horizon Adventures (2024)
- Developer
- Guerrilla Games
- Publisher
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Genre
- Action role-playing, open world
- Platforms
- PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS
- Total sales
- Over 40 million units (as of November 2025)
Lore & Background
The narrative follows Aloy, a young Nora tribe huntress and a clone of 21st-century scientist Elisabet Sobeck. She attempts to uncover the secrets of the ancient past and stop recurring extinction-level threats. The series originated from a concept by art director Jan-Bart van Beek and is predominately developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The gameplay revolves around exploring an open world where nature has reclaimed the ruins of human civilisation, which is now overrun by animal-like machines. The player hunts and battles these machines using stealth and tribal weaponry, aided by an augmented reality device called a Focus, and must navigate conflicts between human tribal societies.
Reader's Guide
The Horizon franchise has expanded from its initial PlayStation exclusivity to include releases on Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch, and soon on mobile platforms. The main series includes Horizon Zero Dawn (2017) and its expansion The Frozen Wilds, followed by Horizon Forbidden West (2022) and its expansion Burning Shores. Spin-offs include Horizon Call of the Mountain (2023), a virtual reality game, and Lego Horizon Adventures (2024), a family-friendly retelling. Upcoming entries include Horizon Steel Frontiers, an MMORPG, and Horizon Hunters Gathering, a cooperative multiplayer game, alongside a feature film adaptation of Zero Dawn. Scholars have analysed the games' environmental ethics and focus on the symbiosis between humanity and nature. The franchise has won numerous industry awards, particularly for its tactical combat, worldbuilding, and visual fidelity.
Did You Know?
- Aloy appears as a playable character in Monster Hunter: World, Fortnite Battle Royale, Genshin Impact, and Fall Guys.
- Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered includes over ten hours of re-recorded dialogue with new motion capture data.
- The franchise includes adaptations into comic books, Lego sets, and tabletop games.
- Horizon Steel Frontiers is the first game in the series not released on a PlayStation console.
More in Characters & Machines
Elsewhere in Horizon Zero Dawn
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