Hungry for the return of Killzone? Comments from Guerrilla Games suggest that the studio might be done with the franchise.
Prior to Horizon Zero Dawn, Guerrilla Games was best known for Killzone. The gritty war-focused FPS franchise burst onto the scene back on the PS2 to a mixed response. Despite an impressive presentation and decent gameplay, the game struggled to deliver a consistent performance. Despite this, the game and its villains, the Helghast, became instant icons. PlayStation ended up acquiring the studio and releasing three more sequels on the PS3 and PS4, and two spin-offs on the PSP and PS Vita. Since the release of Killzone: Shadowfall, however, there have been no updates on what’s going on with the Killzone IP.
Now, we have somewhat of an answer.
Review: Killzone: Shadow Fall
Killzone Out, Horizon In
Speaking with theWashington Postabout the upcoming LEGO Horizon Adventures, art director Roy Postma was directly asked about the Killzone franchise and confirmed that, after Shadow Fall, the studio was pretty much done with Killzone’s dark and violent world.
“We were done with it as a team. As a studio, we needed to refresh the palette. It was, by choice, the opposite of Killzone."
“I think the themes that this story and the characters represent are relatable for all ages and people, like having a found family of friends and finding your place in the world.”
While Postma speaks of Guerrilla being done in the past-tense, he also doesn’t provide a clear picture of whether this means the franchise is done with for the forseeable future. It’s also worth noting that neither PlayStation nor Guerrilla Games has commented on the status of the Killzone IP. Still, the fact that the team was done with the IP at the time and wanted to move forward to something new doesn’t raise much confidence in them returning to Killzone.
PlayStation’s Missing Genre
A successful FPS franchise has long been notably absent from PlayStation’s catalog. After Halo exploded, Sony spent the PS3 era attempting to build out their own successful FPS franchises in Killzone and Resistance. While both franchises enjoyed critical and commercial success, neither ever reached the heights of Halo on Xbox. Much like Guerrilla with Killzone, Insomniac Games finished Resistance and moved on with Ratchet & Clank and Marvel’s Spider-Man.
The fact that the team was done with the IP at the time and wanted to move forward to something new doesn’t raise much confidence in them returning to Killzone.
Killzone and Resistance remain trapped on the PS3 and PS Vita. Though neither franchise are likely to return anytime soon, fans frequently request that PlayStation remaster, or at least port the games to modern hardware. Both franchises' PSP entries, Killzone: Liberation and Resistance: Retribution, have been ported to PS5 and PS4. Getting the entirety of both franchises playable on PS5 and PS4 would be fantastic.
