For those wondering about the missing release date of Horizon Forbidden West during its State of Play presentation last week, don’t worry, we all were. There is some news though, and this comes from none other than Hermen Hulst of Playstation Studios, but it’s almost akin to waiting with bated breath and receiving an avoidant answer to the ‘so what are we?’ question in the grey area of dating.

When asked about if they have been able to cope and adapt with these big challenges over the last year, Hulst mentions that there have indeed been challenges, especially for performance capture for cinematics. Hulst reiterates that quality is extremely important to PlayStation Studios, but not at the risk of pushing teams to their breaking point.

“For Horizon Forbidden West, we think we are on track to release this holiday season. But that isn’t quite certain yet, and we’re working as hard as we can to confirm that to you as soon as we can.” Hulst says.

While the optimist may see that Horizon Forbidden West will release hopefully during the November to December holiday release window, the realist will take a look at this delay-filled year, take into account studio space shortages and personnel availability and will manage their expectations.

Horizon Forbidden West is still anticipated to release on the second half of 2021 for the PS4 and PS5.