Summary
Killzonefans have pointed out that developer Guerrilla Games recently failed to acknowledge the franchise’s 20th anniversary on May 26, 2025. It was revealed in the past few weeks that Guerrilla has moved on fromKillzone, but it’s quite odd that the Dutch studio made no public mention of such a major milestone for the dormant first-person shooter series.
Guerrilla’s tryst with theKillzonefranchise ended with the2013 PS4 launch titleKillzone: Shadow Fall. While the final mainlineKillzoneentry accrued praise for its beautiful graphics and slick gunplay, reviewers deducted points for a lackluster campaign, leading to a cumulative 73% score on Metacritic. Despite the lukewarm critical reception,Killzone: Shadow Fallshifted over two million copies as of January 2014. However, Guerrilla ultimately made the switch to theHorizonfranchise with 2017’s mega-successfulHorizon Zero Dawn.
A recent interview also revealed thatGuerrilla’s decision to take a break fromKillzonewas intentional, as the studio wanted to refresh its color palette with the more vibrant worlds ofHorizon. This already made the odds of aKillzonecomeback seem very slim, but Guerrilla took it one step further by snubbing the series' 20th anniversary. Twitter user realradec recently noted thatKillzone’s 20th anniversary went completely unrecognizedonGuerrilla’s official websiteand social media channels, which were instead dominated by coverage of the newly-releasedHorizon Zero Dawn Remastered.
Guerrilla Seemingly Doesn’t Want Anything to Do With Killzone Anymore
The firstKillzonegame launched on the PS2 on June 14, 2025. Even though it’s the lowest-rated entry in the series, it still kickstarted one of Sony’s most popular shooter franchises and set the stage for 2009’sKillzone 2, which fared substantially better with critics and averaged a whopping 91% Metacritic score. While it’s understandable that Guerrilla has chosen topursue moreHorizonprojects in the future, it’s very bizarre that the studio would entirely ignore the 20th anniversary ofKillzone, a massive part of Guerrilla’s history.
After years of requesting aKillzonerevival, many fans have given up on seeing any future entries in the franchise from Guerrilla Games, with their hopes only contingent on Sony licensing theKillzoneIP to an external studio. This would’ve been an extremely optimistic line of thinking a few years ago, but the recentannouncement ofFreedom Wars Remasteredfrom Bandai Namcoshows that Sony is open to licensing its IPs if there’s a viable opportunity. Whether any developers approach Sony for theKillzoneIP, though, remains to be seen.
Killzone: Shadow Fall
WHERE TO PLAY
Guerrilla Games and Sony Computer Entertainment bring you another installment in the first-person shooter franchise known as Killzone. Taking place thirty years after the events of Killzone 3, the events of Killzone Shadow Fall are set in a time of planetary colonization. The game focuses on the conflict between the Vektans and the Helghast – two rival colonist factions inhabiting a remote planet.For 3 decades, both factions have lived side by side, separated by an enormous security wall. But now, their Cold War is about to run hot. It is up to Lucas Kellan, a member of the military intelligence unit dubbed the Shadow Marshals to try to protect the fragile peace that exists.A new warrior for a new era of war, Kellan’s missions will range from quiet infiltrations to all-out combat. Players will need to be methodical and ready to adapt, as any misstep could lead to mutually assured destruction. Lucas will still rely on classic weapons like the M82 Assault Rifle, stA-18 pistol, and others from previous Killzone games along with a host of new weapons and tactics for fans to master.
