Sony have announced an unexpected State of Play broadcast that’s all about debuting 14 minutes of Horizon Forbidden West gameplay footage captured on the PS5.
Prepare to discover the Forbidden West a whole lot sooner than anticipated. Despite not even having a release date yet, we’re about to get our first extensive look at Horizon Forbidden West gameplay footage. PlayStation’s May State of Play broadcast will focus on showcasing this extended footage from Horizon Zero Dawn‘s highly anticipated sequel, nearly 11 months after the game was debuted at the official PlayStation 5 showcase.
A “uniquely crafted countdown” for the event will begin at 9am PT on Thursday, May 27 – that’s 2am AEST on Friday, May 28 for any keen Aussies hoping to catch it. No need to stress about being on time though, the main State of Play event doesn’t actually start until 2pm PT (which is 7am AEST so you can easily kick off your day by adventuring with Aloy).
The 20 minute showcase will debut 14 minutes of in-game action captured directly on the PS5, so you can expect it to be pretty glorious. If you’re worried that you still won’t be able to get your hands on a PS5 before Horizon Forbidden West comes out, however, you can rest easy knowing it has been confirmed that it will also be released for PS4.
“This reveal has been a true team effort and we’re very excited to show you what we have in store,” wrote game director Mathijs de Jonge on a PlayStation blog post.
“Whether you’ve been with us and Aloy since ‘Horizon Zero Dawn’ or are only just getting to know this incredible world, we want to share this huge milestone with you and cannot wait to see your favourite moments and reactions.”
State of Play returns Thursday, May 27 with an extensive look at Horizon Forbidden West gameplay: https://t.co/tJC9WiTgZZ pic.twitter.com/C7xvZiotgJ
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) May 25, 2021
We still don’t have a formal release date for Horizon Forbidden West, with developer Guerrilla Games aiming for the latter half of 2021. That being said, fans on Twitter have pointed out that Sony usually does 15 minute raw gameplay showcases like this when a game is very close to release.
While it’s especially odd to be getting this event when a date hasn’t even been set, the unexpected State of Play has prompted fans of the franchise to question if we might be getting the game sooner than anticipated. Of course, this is all speculation, and it’s likely that we’ll gain some more clarity on the release window during the broadcast.
Sony usually does these 15 minute raw gameplay State Of Play's when a game is very close to releasing… It seems Horizon Forbidden West might be dropping sooner than we thought. pic.twitter.com/nlaUVh5qe5
— MBG (@xMBGx) May 25, 2021
PlayStation posted a teaser video announcing the event on Twitter, offering a taste of the post-apocalyptic US west coast setting of Aloy’s continuing journey. That 25 second clip of simple, overhead footage has already got me well and truly pumped to return to the world of Horizon Forbidden West, so 14 minutes of proper gameplay footage is going to be a real treat.
Head to PlayStation’s Twitch or YouTube channels when the live broadcast begins if you’re ready to dive right into those crystal clear waters.
