A feature film based on the acclaimed Sony PlayStation video game “Horizon Zero Daybreak” is in the “early stages” of development as a joint project between Columbia Footage and PlayStation Productions.
Asad Qizilbash, head of PlayStation Productions, announced the news as part of Sony presentation Monday night at CES 2025.
If you’re not a gamer but the project sounds familiar to you, it’s because “Horizon Zero Daybreak” was previously announced, back in 2022, as a Netflix series developed by “The Umbrella Academy” showrunner Steve Blackman, in association with Michelle Lovretta {“Killjoys”). However, at some point since then, the program was quietly shelved.
No reason was given during Qizilbash’s announcement for the change from TV series to feature film, but it is notable that in June 2024, Rolling Stone published an exposé in which Blackman was accused of bullying and other toxic behavior by members of staff. Blackman has denied all allegations.
In any case, no timeline was provided for the release of the “Horizon Zero Daybreak” adaptation. Presumably it will come out before 2066, (SPOILER) the year in which, according to the game’s timeline, all life on Earth was destroyed.
For those who haven’t played, “Horizon Zero Daybreak” is an open-world action-adventure game set in the distant future, where humanity is divided into strange, primitive tribes living amidst the decaying ruins of civilization. of the 21st century. In constant conflict with each other, these tribes are also threatened by dangerous machines that imitate long-extinct life forms.
The story centers on Aloy (voiced by Ashley Burch), a young woman from one of these tribes forced to venture out into the world to discover her own origins. Along the way, he discovers the truth about the mistakes (and crimes) that destroyed our world and created his own.
“Horizon Forbidden West” followed in 2022 and a third installment is in development. The games have also been turned into a comic book series and an adaptation of a Lego video game, “Lego Horizon Adventures.”
Alongside Burch, the series featured a stacked voice cast including the late Lance Reddick and, in the second game, “The Matrix” star Carrie Ann-Moss.
From Amsterdam-based Guerrilla Studios and Sony Interactive, “Horizon Forbidden West” was released for PlayStation 4 in 2017. It has sold more than 24 million units.
