Horizon Forbidden West has Now Sold 8.4 Million Units, Bringing the Franchise Total Up to 32.7 Million Units

PlayStation Studios have confirmed that Horizon Forbidden West has now sold through 8.4 million units, which brings the franchise's total sales to over 32.7 million units. Horizon Forbidden West was one of the more high-profile PlayStation Studios launches last year and received favourable reviews across the board. The franchise has been a key focus for PlayStation with offerings across different platforms, including a PS VR2 title. 

It is no surprise that PlayStation will want to maximize the franchise's potential by making the games available on PC and not just PlayStation. The 32 million figure is surely helped a lot by Horizon Zero Dawn's release on PC, which made it one of PlayStation Studios' most successful games on the platform alongside God of War and Marvel's Spider-Man. 

Sony has major plans for the franchise, including a sequel, spin-off stories, DLC, and VR titles. Guerrilla Entertainment has been one of the most reliable first-party studios for Sony, delivering hits such as the Killzone franchise and now the Horizon franchise.

Does the Horizon Franchise Have the Legs to Carry on the Momentum from Forbidden West?

The last big release from the franchise came in the form of the Burning Shores DLC for Horizon Forbidden West. The game itself was received rather positively, with many fans enjoying new elements in the game world as well as the added story elements. The launch was, sadly, mired in controversy with review bombs over certain aspects of Aloy's character arc. However, the reception was positive enough for Sony to still consider the franchise fairly bankable. 

With the franchise's total sales now over 32.7 million units, Sony has to be eyeing different ways to maximize its potential. There have been rumblings about a live adaptation of the series, which seems to be a new focus for SIE. Even with all this success to boot, there is also a real chance of franchise fatigue, which tends to set in following an over-saturation of content. 

Sony has been very careful when it comes to avoiding that saturation point with its big tentpole franchises in the past. PlayStation Studios will have to be exceedingly careful with each subsequent release in the Horizon franchise to make sure that each release manages to uphold the standard of quality that has been set thus far. It is crucial for the franchise at this point to continue exploring new ideas and continuously innovate in order to stay fresh and relevant. It will be super interesting to see what Guerrilla has in store for fans with the Horizon franchise and if PS VR2 is a serious platform for the studio moving forward.