Biggest discounts, free games, and limited-time offers across every major gaming store.
Never pay full price again.
Overview
Horizon Hunters Gathering is a tactical co-op action game developed by Guerrilla that pulls the Horizon setting into a squad-based format. Three players form a team of Hunters, each with a distinct playstyle and weapon loadout, then head out into a post-apocalyptic world overrun by corrupted machines. The rogue AI HEPHAESTUS drives the threat, and the machines it controls grow more dangerous with every mission completed.
The game sits at an interesting crossroads between the tactical co-op shooter genre and rogue-lite progression systems. Builds evolve through collected perks, skill path upgrades, and gear crafted between runs, giving each hunt a different feel depending on how the team customizes their Hunters. Coordination matters more than raw firepower, and the elemental attack variety of the machines means squads need to think about composition before heading out.
Horizon Hunters Gathering content image
Gameplay and mechanics
At its core, Horizon Hunters Gathering is built around a loop of hunting, adapting, and returning stronger. Key mechanics include:
Horizon Hunters Gathering content image
- Rogue-lite perk collection per run
- Hunter-specific skill path progression
- Elemental machine combat with varied attack types
- Three-player coordinated co-op with NPC fill options
- Camp upgrades and gear crafting between missions
The three-player cap keeps encounters tight and deliberate. Players can fill empty squad slots with NPCs, which means solo and duo runs are possible, though the game clearly rewards genuine team coordination. Mastering a Hunter's unique weapon and ability set takes time, and the perk system adds enough variance to keep repeated hunts from feeling identical.
Horizon Hunters Gathering content image
What is the Gathering and how does it work?
The Gathering functions as the game's central hub between missions. Tribes from across the post-apocalyptic world have united here as humanity's last organized resistance against the machine threat. Back at camp, players customize their setup, upgrade equipment, and build alliances with other characters that carry mechanical benefits into future hunts.
This hub structure gives the game a persistent social layer that sits outside the missions themselves. The camp customization and allyship system add a light base-building quality to the experience, rewarding players who invest time in the Gathering rather than rushing back into the field.
World and setting
Horizon Hunters Gathering draws on the established lore of the Horizon series but tells its own story. Humanity faces annihilation from HEPHAESTUS and its corrupted machine armies, and the campaign unfolds across diverse environments that shift in tone and danger level as the threat escalates. The post-apocalyptic world retains the series' signature blend of overgrown ruins and mechanical predators.
Horizon Hunters Gathering content image
The unfolding campaign structure means the narrative progresses alongside the gameplay loop rather than being front-loaded. Players piece together the story of this new conflict through missions and interactions at the Gathering, which keeps the world-building tied to active play rather than cutscene delivery.
Multiplayer and social features
Co-op is the backbone of Horizon Hunters Gathering. The three-player squad format encourages players to think about Hunter composition before a mission starts, since different elemental threats call for different builds and weapon types. Friends can jump in together, or NPC companions fill the gaps for players who prefer a more flexible approach.
The rogue-lite structure means no two runs play out identically, which gives the co-op format genuine replayability. Perk combinations and skill path choices create enough build variety that coordinating a squad loadout becomes part of the strategy, keeping the tactical co-op experience fresh across extended play sessions.