Guerrilla Games is “done” with the ‘Killzone’ series.
Guerrilla Games is 'done' with the Killzone series
The studio had worked on the first-person-shooter for nine years until 2013’s ‘Shadow Fall’, though pivoted to the ‘Horizon’ franchise with ‘Zero Dawn’ three years later.
Now, the company’s art director Roy Postma has revealed Guerrilla purposefully dropped the ‘Killzone’ series in favour of the less violent ‘Horizon’ franchise because the studio needed to “refresh the palette”.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Postma said: “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’.”
The developer added the ‘Horizon’ series was much more approachable for audiences of all ages, and had more relatable themes when compared to the shooter franchise.
He explained: “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.”
After working on ‘Zero Dawn’ and ‘Forbidden West’, Guerrilla collaborated with Studio Gobo on the upcoming spin-off ‘LEGO Horizon Adventures’, which promises to be more family-friendly than the franchise’s predecessors.
Gobo’s lead game designer Toño Gonzalez said: “We came from making smaller games and games for children.”
Postma admitted the upcoming children’s game marked a big change for Guerrilla and added: “Making people laugh when they play the game, that was new for us.”