What you need to know
- LEGO Horizon Adventures is an upcoming LEGO adaptation of the Horizon franchise from PlayStation and Guerrilla Games.
- Developed by Guerrilla Games and Studio Gobo, LEGO Horizon Adventures features classic LEGO humor and jokes, with LEGO brick-based recreations of machines like the Tallneck and Thunderjaw.
- LEGO Horizon Adventures will be released later in 2024 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Nintendo Switch, but not for Xbox consoles or PlayStation.
- Speaking to Stephen Totilo for Game File, the developers stated that they “don’t really have anything to announce about Xbox at this time.”
We have some unanswered questions about the chosen platforms for one of PlayStation’s upcoming games.
LEGO Horizon Adventures, a LEGO version of PlayStation’s Horizon games being developed jointly by Guerrilla Games and Studio Gobo, is currently in development for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Nintendo Switch, the latter of which is notably unusual for non-MLB PlayStation Studios games. Despite being much more multiplatform than usual, the game has not yet been announced for Xbox consoles.
Speaking to Stephen Totilo for his solo newsletter Game File (where he also discusses the making of upcoming PlayStation 5 title Astro Bot), Guerrilla Games’ story director James Windeler noted that the game was intended to support PlayStation 5 hardware and “look as amazing as possible” on the system.
When asked why Totilo was coming to Nintendo Switch, Windeler explained that the decision helped the team pursue a “family-friendly audience and a younger audience” than would otherwise have been possible. When asked about Xbox, however, Windeler simply said, “You know, we don’t really have anything to announce about Xbox right now.”
LEGO Horizon Adventures is scheduled for launch later in 2024
Like other LEGO games, LEGO Horizon Adventures features co-op, with full cross-platform play on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Nintendo Switch. Players can collect LEGO versions of characters like Aloy and Varl and battle machines like the Thunderjaw.
No release date has been announced yet, but when the game was revealed earlier this year as part of Summer Game Fest 2024, it was announced that it would release later in the year.
Analysis: Not so surprising, but still curious
While the way the non-answer is stated is funny, it seems perfectly clear what’s really going on. For PlayStation, this kind of game only really makes sense if it has a wide audience, something that can’t even be fully guaranteed with PlayStation 5 and PC players, but the company also can’t bring it to PlayStation 4 because it has to push its own newer hardware. As a result, the best option is to bring it to Nintendo Switch as well.
As for Xbox, while it certainly won’t be included at launch, I don’t think an eventual port is completely out of the question. PlayStation already brings MLB games to Xbox, so porting games like LEGO Horizon Adventures after the initial wave of players has already assembled elsewhere makes some sense.
Whatever happens, the list of PlayStation Studios games for Windows PC is growing faster than ever, and it’s clear that PlayStation (like Xbox) is no longer confined entirely to one piece of console hardware.
As an aside, kudos to Totilo for the work he’s putting into Game File. He also talks to Team Asobi about the upcoming, awesome-looking Astro Bot in his most recent newsletter, which I highly recommend you read.