There’s a lot of excitement surroundingHorizon Forbidden Westand the recently announced release date, but Guerilla isn’t letting fans forget aboutHorizon Zero Dawn,the game that started it all. With a new 60fps patch added to the original game, players are encouraged to go back and revisit the first chapter ofAloy’s journey in preparation forForbidden West,which will finally release in February.
Apart from the upcoming sequel,Horizon Zero Dawnhas been getting a lot of attention recently. It’s built about a successful 2017 launch with a recent PC port, crossover appearances for Aloy, a comic series, and more.Horizon Zero Dawnhas established itself as one of the great PlayStation exclusive titles, even earning nods from other games likeGhost of TsushimaandRatchet and Clank: Rift Apart. Horizonis here to stay, and based on a new change to the original logo, it might have a big future beyondForbidden West.
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Horizon Zero Dawn is the First in a Series
TheHorizon Zero Dawnfranchise has expanded quite a bit since the game’s original launch in 2017, andForbidden Westis probably the most anticipated PlayStation exclusive coming up this winter.Horizon Zero Dawnwas a big risk for Guerilla Games, a studio that was previously known forKillzone,but it certainly paid off and led to a well-deserved sequel.Horizon Zero Dawneven inspired a comic series, andAloy has been featured in crossovers withFortniteand, more recently,Genshin Impact.Sony and Guerilla are doing a great job of putting Aloy in the spotlight.
The end ofHorizon Zero Dawnleft plenty of room for a sequel, so it wasn’t all that surprising. But now, the originalHorizon Zero Dawnlogo has been changed to accommodate the sequel.The Forbidden Westlogo has a line under the word “Horizon” with a 2 in the middle. TheHorizon Zero Dawnlogo now has a similar line broken up by a 1. It’s a very small change, and obviouslyZero Dawnis the first game, but the change could have some exciting implications for the future of the series.
The Updated Logo Makes the Branding More Uniform
Now thatHorizon Zero Dawn’slogo has been updated to matchForbidden West’s,the branding is that much more uniform. While it is a very small detail, it could speak volumes that Guerilla took the time to go back and update the logo for a game that was released in 2017. It shows that having uniform branding is important to the developer, and the only reason that would be important enough to change would be if there were even more plans for the series to continue moving forward.
Fans noticed that the logo actually changed a couple of months ago, and the change wasn’t just made to the game. The newHorizon Zero Dawncomic series, “Liberation,” also features the updated logo. As fans are going back to replayZero Dawnwith the recent 60fps PS5 patch, many more are taking notice of the update. Guerilla is taking a lot of small steps to make sureHorizon Zero Dawnstays relevant as the series continues, and there might be a very good reason for that.
Numbering Both Games Likely Means More Are Coming
If Guerilla Games has gone out of its way to delineate thatHorizon Zero Dawnis number one andForbidden Westis number two, that must mean thatForbidden Westisn’t the end of the story. A lot of fans have already predicted a third installment coming at some point, but now it seems that much more likely. IfHorizonturns into a longer series, it’ll be nice to have the numbered titles so that it’s easier for new fans to tell which comes first since the names themselves don’t offer a lot of help.
Changing theZero Dawnlogo doesn’t automatically mean there will be a huge series ofHorizongames, so fans should not jump to conclusions. However, it does mean that Guerilla is paying attention to the details and solidifying a franchise that started as experimental. That’s a good sign forHorizonfans. Sony is obviously very committed to the series and Aloy has been everywhere recently, establishing herself as a major PlayStation mascot. Put all the pieces together, and it feels likeHorizonis likely to be getting several more installments in the future.
Horizon Zero Dawnis available now on PC and PS4.
