Sony will hold a closed playtest for live-service multiplayer spin-off Horizon Hunters Gathering this weekend on PC and PS5, open to those within the PlayStation beta program.
The hands-on test session will run from this Friday, February 27 to Sunday, March 1, accessible via PS5 and PC via Steam. You’ll need to have already signed up to the PlayStation beta program to take part (you can jump in here, if you haven’t already), and seemingly be based within either North America or Europe.
North American servers will be live from 4pm to 7pm Pacific, while European servers will be up from 7pm to 10pm CET (that’s 6pm to 9pm for the UK).
Content available in the playtest includes the hunters Sun, Rem and Axle, as well as two different game modes: the wave-based survival offering Machine Incursion, or the multi-stage dungeon exploration found in Cauldron Descent.
It is slightly odd that PlayStation is holding this test the same weekend it is already hosting its Marathon server slam, but perhaps it believes the pools of players for each will be limited enough — or distinct enough in terms of player taste — that it won’t matter.
Sony previously described plans for a “small-scale” closed playtest due at the end of February, alongside a few other details about the game. A tactical three-player co-op action title with a focus on adapting your Hunter for intense missions, the spin-off will also feature a narrative campaign that ties into the wider Horizon universe.
According to game director Arjan Bak, Horizon Hunters Gathering has a story that “will introduce new mysteries, characters, and threats, but we’re keeping it under wraps for now. What we can say is that Hunters Gathering is fully canon and its story doesn’t stop at launch!”
As of yet, there’s no word on when that launch might be, or how the game will be monetized when it is ready for launch — whether it will be a premium launch or free-to-play. Are you planning to jump in this weekend and give it a go?
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
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