Guerrilla Games' Horizon Franchise Has Sold Over 38 Million Copies Worldwide
This news comes from a line of text tucked away within Sony's recently filed lawsuit against the Chinese technology conglomerate, which reads: 'The Horizon franchise is immensely successful and widely distributed. The Horizon franchise has sold over 38m copies globally. There would be no question that Tencent had access to the Horizon franchise when it created Light of Motiram , even if it had not expressly approached [Sony] with a request to license [its] intellectual property rights in the franchise.'
Despite the current circumstances, this milestone is certainly a respectable one, especially considering that there are only two mainline games in the franchise thus far. The series kicked off in 2017 with the debut of Horizon Zero Dawn , which subsequently spawned a sequel, 2022's Horizon Forbidden West , alongside a 2023 VR exclusive title, Horizon Call of the Mountain, and the 2024 kid-friendly spin-off Lego Horizon Adventures .
Both mainline titles were extremely well received, and while they were both initially PlayStation console exclusives, they were subsequently released on PC, with the first title also receiving a graphical remaster last year. The games largely centred on protagonist Aloy, an outcast of the primitive Nora tribe who ventures into the post-apocalyptic lands ravaged by mechanical beasts as she uncovers the truth behind her existence and fights to prevent the world from ending once more.
With this new milestone, the Horizon franchise is slowly making its mark as one of Sony's best-selling IPs, although it's still nowhere close to its other juggernaut franchise, Santa Monica's God of War , with its 2018 reboot selling over 23 million units by the end of 2022 and its 2022 sequel, God of War Ragnarök , selling 11 million copies within the first three months of its launch, meaning that the rebooted franchise as a whole has to date sold much more than Horizon's current milestone.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. Guerrilla Games Horizon Horizon Forbidden West Horizon Zero Dawn
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2 days ago
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Golfers aren't athletes, but golf is a sport, even if it's not the most exciting, especially when compared to other more active ones like rugby, basketball or tennis. Hitting a ball across a length of field is rather tame by comparison, often boiling down to extended bouts of waiting and planning, while the golfer lines up the perfect shot. Still, there's something calming and relaxing about the activity, and that's probably the reason why it has transitioned pretty well into the video game space with numerous titles over the years, ranging from realistic simulators like Electronic Arts' PGA Tour franchise, to more arcade-like renditions such as 2014's Mario Golf: World Tour . The Everybody's Golf franchise (formerly known as Hot Shots Golf in North America) sits somewhere firmly in the middle, offering the same depth of gameplay seen in simulation titles, but packaging it all in a cartoonish art style supplemented by easy-to-learn controls, balancing its appeal for both avid golfers and casual enjoyers alike. Initially published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, the franchise has steadily grown a dedicated fan base over its seven mainline titles and nine spin-offs since its 1997 debut, and this time around, publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment and developer HYDE are taking the reins for its latest entry. Everybody's Golf Hot Shots marks the next modern evolution of the title, and if our lengthy hour-long preview session with the game is anything to go by, it's not just on par (heh) with previous titles, but also a meaningful step forward, offering not just elements that make it more accessible to the wider audience, but notable shake-ups to the tried-and-true arcade golfing formula. At its core, Everybody's Golf Hot Shots operates on the same systems as before, and for the uninitiated, this is built around an easy to learn but hard to master gameplay loop, mixing the traditional complexities of golf-type games like managing different club types, accounting for environmental factors and applying spins to shots with the series' classic three-button shot control scheme, where players simply need to press the 'X' button (on the PlayStation controller) to begin a swing, which begins filling up a distance meter, then once again to stop it at the desired point, and a final time to stop an one-screen indicator within a marked 'sweet spot'. It's an incredibly intuitive set-up, and managing to time the final press right in the centre of the 'sweet spot', which results in a charming animation congratulating players on their accuracy, never got old. But just because players can easily perform shots doesn't mean that the game is a simple point-and-shoot affair either, as they will also have to manage various other elements, including aiming shots to avoid the dreaded 'rough' and 'bunker' areas, which are patches of tall grass or rocks, and sand, respectively. For further shot flexibility, or to get out of tight spots, a player also has a range of clubs available to them, made of different materials like iron or wood, that each offers advantages or disadvantages depending on the situation. Finally, and perhaps one of the most tricky systems to master, there's the putting shots, the final series of hits needed when a player's ball lands on 'green', the area surrounding the hole. 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Another headliner of the mode is Colourful Stroke, which places mysterious coloured spaces all over the course that, when landed on, can trigger all sorts of buffs and debuffs that can be used on opponents, or even spectacular effects like summoning a literal tornado, or a horde of rampaging animals to knock an opponent's ball off course. According to Takemoto, Wacky Golf was inspired by the Special Rules setting of past titles, and was adapted and created to provide a casual and lively mode that even first-time players can enjoy. 'We have repeatedly made adjustments with both [player demographics] in mind, so that long-time fans will feel nostalgic, while those who have never played it before will enjoy its modern systems.' 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Geek Culture
30-07-2025
- Geek Culture
Guerrilla Games' Horizon Franchise Has Sold Over 38 Million Copies Worldwide
PlayStation and Guerrilla Games' Horizon franchise has surpassed 38 million copies sold, a milestone quietly revealed amid the former's ongoing legal dispute with Tencent's upcoming Light of Motiram . This news comes from a line of text tucked away within Sony's recently filed lawsuit against the Chinese technology conglomerate, which reads: 'The Horizon franchise is immensely successful and widely distributed. The Horizon franchise has sold over 38m copies globally. There would be no question that Tencent had access to the Horizon franchise when it created Light of Motiram , even if it had not expressly approached [Sony] with a request to license [its] intellectual property rights in the franchise.' Despite the current circumstances, this milestone is certainly a respectable one, especially considering that there are only two mainline games in the franchise thus far. The series kicked off in 2017 with the debut of Horizon Zero Dawn , which subsequently spawned a sequel, 2022's Horizon Forbidden West , alongside a 2023 VR exclusive title, Horizon Call of the Mountain, and the 2024 kid-friendly spin-off Lego Horizon Adventures . Both mainline titles were extremely well received, and while they were both initially PlayStation console exclusives, they were subsequently released on PC, with the first title also receiving a graphical remaster last year. The games largely centred on protagonist Aloy, an outcast of the primitive Nora tribe who ventures into the post-apocalyptic lands ravaged by mechanical beasts as she uncovers the truth behind her existence and fights to prevent the world from ending once more. With this new milestone, the Horizon franchise is slowly making its mark as one of Sony's best-selling IPs, although it's still nowhere close to its other juggernaut franchise, Santa Monica's God of War , with its 2018 reboot selling over 23 million units by the end of 2022 and its 2022 sequel, God of War Ragnarök , selling 11 million copies within the first three months of its launch, meaning that the rebooted franchise as a whole has to date sold much more than Horizon's current milestone. Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. Guerrilla Games Horizon Horizon Forbidden West Horizon Zero Dawn
Geek Culture
29-07-2025
- Geek Culture
Tencent Plays Coy About Copying Sony's Aloy
Tencent raised eyebrows late last year when it released the announcement trailer for Light of Motiram , an open-world survival game where humans use primitive technology to combat giant mechanical beasts. Sound familiar? Well, Sony certainly thought so, as the company is now suing the China-based studio over copyright and trademark infringement against its Horizon video game franchise. As reported by Variety, Sony Interactive Entertainment filed a lawsuit on 25 July in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that Light of Motiram is a 'slavish clone' of the Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West video games and requesting statutory damages of US$150,000 for each separate work in the Horizon franchise infringed. In addition, PlayStation is looking to prevent the game's release, stating that 'Tencent's copying of Horizon is so blatant that the public has described it as 'crazy,' 'insane,' and 'shameless.' Tencent also used its rip-off of the iconic Horizon main character, Aloy, as the centrepiece of its pre-release marketing and promotional strategy, deliberately causing numerous game lovers to confuse Light of Motiram as the next game in the Horizon series when encountering Tencent's promotional gameplay videos and social media accounts.' Horizon Zero Dawn (2017) According to further reports by The Wrap, Sony also stated that Tencent attempted to pitch its own version of Horizon in hopes of sealing a collaboration, and despite Sony rejecting the offer, Tencent moved forward with its plans anyway. Representatives for Tencent did not respond to either Variety or The Wrap's request for comments. From looking at the game's trailer alone, it's easy to see just how similar Light of Motiram is to Sony's popular adventure franchise, as apart from the obvious use of the same core man-versus-machine concepts, the upcoming game also features a post-apocalyptic setting, and a tribal protagonist that wields a bow alongside melee weapons to target specific parts of an enemies body, as well as the ability to ride mechanical horses, 'train' mechanical beasts, and use ariel gliders, making it seem far more than just mere inspiration. Light of Motiram To be fair, Tencent's title does feature unique mechanics that differentiate it from Sony's franchise, such as a focus on crafting structures like what appear to be energy pylons and turrets for base defence, hinting at a strong focus on base building and tower defence, alongside a bigger emphasis on multiplayer co-op gameplay. Still, the similarities between the two games are just too obvious for Sony to ignore, and only time will tell how the lawsuit plays out, and if there's trouble on Light of Motiram's horizon. Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. Horizon Zero Dawn Light of Motiram PlayStation Sony tencent
