Guerrilla Games has officially scheduled the second playtest for its co-op action title, Horizon Hunters Gathering, running from May 22 to May 25 on PS5 and PC, though the developer cautions that access remains extremely limited.
Expanded Gameplay and New Characters
The upcoming playtest promises a significant expansion of content based on player feedback from the initial session. Players will be introduced to two new Hunter characters: Ensa, an Oseram smuggler with a mercenary background, and Shadow, a Carja covert operative capable of commanding a fearsome Stalker machine.
In addition to new faces, the game is adopting a staple feature from the Monster Hunter franchise: the introduction of Hunter NPCs. These allies will appear during Episodes and the Machine Incursion mode, the latter of which appears to draw inspiration from the Rampage missions found in Monster Hunter Rise.
New Missions and Environments
Guerrilla Games is further fleshing out the Horizon universe with a new narrative Episode. The update also introduces fresh difficulty tiers for existing Machine Incursion and Cauldron Descent missions, accompanied by a new training mode designed to help players master combat mechanics before diving into higher-stakes encounters.
Exploration is also getting a boost with the addition of “Breakers’ Bounty,” a new region characterized by dense jungles and ruined landscapes that border a hostile, machine-filled desert.
Limited Access and Development Focus
Despite the influx of new features, Guerrilla has reiterated that the playtest participant pool will remain small. The studio emphasizes that Horizon Hunters Gathering is still deep in development, and the current strategy focuses on refining the core experience through intimate testing groups before scaling up.
The studio stated, “We want to emphasize again: Horizon Hunters Gathering is a game in development; we choose to playtest early and with small numbers to focus on the core experience and implement player feedback before opening to bigger groups of players.”
The Future of the Horizon Franchise
The development of Hunters Gathering comes at a pivotal time for the franchise. While leadership at Guerrilla has reaffirmed their commitment to single-player experiences, reports suggest that the majority of the studio is currently dedicated to this multiplayer project, potentially delaying the next mainline entry in the Horizon series.
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