According to his information, most of the team is now working on Horizon Hunters Gathering, a recently announced cooperative project. This means that a full-fledged Horizon 3 has been pushed to the background, and its release may take several years.
The decision has caused criticism and disappointment among players. On Reddit forums, many condemn Sony's shift to service games, and some call Hunters Gathering a "Fortnite knockoff," pointing to the departure from photorealistic graphics in favor of a more stylized one.
Horizon Hunters Gathering has its defenders: they are attracted by the idea of hunting machines in the spirit of Monster Hunter, with crossplay, cross-progression, and the ability to play solo with AI companions.
The priority of the online project almost certainly means that Horizon 3 will not appear until the release of PlayStation 6. Given the current development cycles and the situation on the components market, a return to the main storyline may not take place until 2028.