A couple of days ago, Sony and NCSoft revealed that the South Korean developers would be working on a new MMO set in the world of Horizon, titled Horizon Steel Frontiers. The game is effectively a hybrid of Monster Hunter and Horizon Zero Dawn, and it’s set to launch on both PC and mobile. Of course, given that Horizon is one of Sony’s flagship IPs, eyebrows were raised when the two companies didn’t announce a PS5 version.
While the assumption may have been that something on NCSoft’s end prevented them from developing the game for PlayStation, it looks to be the other way round, with Sony potentially holding the game back from its own platforms.
Sony Could Be The Reason Horizon Steel Frontiers Isn’t Coming To PlayStation
In a new interview with Japanese outlet 4Gamer, translated by us at TheGamer, Lee Song, executive producer on Steel Frontiers and vice president of NCSoft, shared some insight as to why the game wouldn’t be coming to PlayStation.
“That was the most common response [a lack of a PlayStation version] following the game’s announcement,” he told 4Gamer. “NCSOFT has no reason not to do it, so we would love to do it, but since it’s not something we can decide on our own, we’d like to continue discussions.”
The implication here is that NCSoft wants to, and has held conversations about bringing the game to PlayStation, but something is stopping them—presumably Sony.
With Horizon Steel Frontiers, it’s the second time this week that Sony has announced one of its major IPs is coming to platforms other than its own. On Wednesday, the company revealed it had paired with OhBibi to create a new Ratchet and Clank arena shooter. This game’s omission, alongside Steel Frontiers, suggests Sony is being protective of its hardware.
NCSOFT has no reason not to do it, so we would love to do it, but since it’s not something we can decide on our own, we’d like to continue discussions.
Song also revealed further details about Steel Frontiers, confirming the game will be set in Texas, that there will be six close-range and six long-range weapons, and that the game will have ” a friendly business model where players can easily pay for passes and the like.”
