The Killzone series might not be the highest-profile Sony PlayStation exclusive going, but it's hard to deny the games long rich history.
Put simply, you don't release 4 games in the series and two spin-off titles without having faith in the franchise.
Even in 2020, seven years on from the release of the last game in the series, Killzone remains instantly indefinable.
Those Helghast soldiers with their glowing orange eyes are as well known as Nathan Drake from Uncharted, or Kratos from God of War.
There have been rumours bubbling for years of a possible revival for the series, and a recent teaser during the PS5 UI reveal has ramped up the belief that this first-person shooter is coming back.
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So what do we know? Let's recap.
Release Date
Right now we know that Guerrilla Games are very much focused on the release of the sequel Horizon Zero Dawn.
Horizon Forbidden West is currently pencilled in to release in 2021 on PS4 and PS5.
However, we know Sony is not afraid to delay their big titles when needed and we can envisage this being pushed to 2022 if necessary.
With that in mind, we think it's unlikely we'll see any second game from Guerrilla Games until 2022 at the very earliest.
Why 2022?
One thing that is certainly worth mentioning is some previous quotes from Guerrilla Games' CEO Hermen Hulst.
Hulst is now the man in charge of Sony worldwide studios, but back in 2018 he suggested that he wanted to see the company produce games quicker in the future.
“After Horizon: Zero Dawn, we are accelerating, the best talents are coming to us, and last month we have already hired nine new people, but we also needed more space for our sound and motion tracking studios,” Hermen Hulst told the Dutch website Parool.nl.
“We have worked at Horizon for 6.5 years, which is exceptional: we want to release games in the two or three years, both new titles and games based on existing titles.”
Could Killzone be another one of those 'existing titles' Hulst spoke of?
Leaks
There's been plenty of 'leaks' suggesting that Guerilla Games are working on a new Killzone and other leaks suggesting they're working on a new SOCOM game.
Truthfully though, there are very few leaks that hold any weight right now.
Most 'leaks' amount to spurious guesswork and anonymous posts on Reddit or 4Chan.
Which isn't to say that leaks on Reddit or 4Chan are always wrong. Sometimes, they do get it right.
But right this second, there's nothing concrete that favourably supports the idea that Killzone is in the works.
Rumours
Rumours we can work with. As it's more a case of connecting the dots like a slick detective in a film noir.
One of the more receptive rumours we've seen concerns the recently revealed PlayStation 5 user interface demo which Sony debuted in mid-October.
Some users believe that Sony has dropped a sly teaser for a possible new direction for the series in the games youtube demo.
As players will no doubt have seen, there's a Killzone Helghast avatar used right at the start.
That obviously isn't why players are getting all hot under the collar. Actually, it's the name - Scotty Kenzo - used in conjunction with the avatar, that's causing all the fuss.
Eagle-eyed Killzone fans believe that this is sly hint towards a low key character in Killzone lore called Sgt. Kenzo Hakhan who served as a Helghan soldier during the Vektan Cold War.
Could this be a sly teaser? Or a harmless easter egg to PlayStation's many characters?
We're inclined to think there's something in it. Not just because we're secretly rooting for a return, but also because it seems far too niche and coincidental.
Development Rumours
Again, a small pinch of salt is required with these development rumours, which namely focus on the hiring of several positions which seem, interesting.
For instance, why would a studio who just released Horizon Zero Dawn, and is working on Horizon Forbidden West, be hiring several prominent industry professionals with experience in multiplayer games and shooters?
Notably, the Dutch studio has been hiring key staff who worked on Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege.
Simon Larouche rejoined the studio having worked as Game Director on Ubisoft's tactical shooter.
Larouche has been working on a currently undisclosed project at Guerrilla since February 2018.
In addition, Chris Lee was hired as Principal Game Designer at Guerrilla Games. Previously, Lee was a developer at Ubisoft on Siege, too.
We'll be sure to keep updating this page as more information becomes available.
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