Sony is reportedly in the early stages of reviving Killzone, the first-person shooter franchise that Guerrilla Games quietly shelved after pivoting to the Horizon series. A new project is said to be in very early production, with People Can Fly (the studio behind Bulletstorm and Outriders) brought in as a co-developer. The big question nobody can answer yet: is this a remake or a remaster?
The last time fans got a proper Killzone release was Killzone: Shadow Fall, the PS4 launch title that landed back in 2013. Since then, the franchise has existed only as a T-shirt easter egg in The Last of Us Part 2: Remastered and a Helldivers 2 crossover. For a series that once positioned itself as PlayStation's answer to Halo, that's a long, quiet absence.
What People Can Fly's involvement actually tells us
Here's the thing: the involvement of People Can Fly is the most telling detail in this whole report. Guerrilla is currently stretched thin across multiple projects, which makes outside co-development almost a necessity rather than a creative choice. The studio has a milestone due for Hunters Gathering (its rebooted Horizon multiplayer spinoff) by the end of this year, and a separate tiny team reportedly grinding away on Horizon 3, which is still years from release.
With Guerrilla's bandwidth this limited, People Can Fly handling the heavy lifting on a Killzone remaster or remake makes sense. The Polish studio has the technical pedigree for shooter work, and Sony has leaned on external co-devs for major projects before.
Which Killzone is actually getting the treatment
No one has confirmed which entry in the series is being revived. The smart money points to the original 2004 PS2 game, simply because it's the oldest, has the most to gain from a visual and mechanical overhaul, and would serve as a clean entry point for players who never touched the franchise.
A remaster of Killzone: Shadow Fall is a different conversation entirely. That game already ran on PS4 hardware and holds up reasonably well visually. A full remake would be a much bigger investment, while a remaster would be a lighter lift. The distinction matters because it signals how serious Sony is about relaunching the IP versus just putting something out to test demand.
Guerrilla's own complicated relationship with the franchise
Guerrilla's feelings about Killzone have never been a secret. Speaking in 2024, art director Roy Postma was candid about why the studio walked away: "We were done with it as a team. As a studio, we needed to refresh the palette. It was, by choice, the opposite of Killzone."
Postma also pointed to Horizon's broader appeal as part of the reasoning, noting that its themes of found family and identity resonate across age groups in a way Killzone's darker, more violent world never quite did.
That honesty is worth keeping in mind. Guerrilla is not coming back to Killzone out of passion. This looks more like a business decision from PlayStation to keep a dormant IP relevant while the studio's main resources stay pointed at Horizon. Whether that produces something fans actually want remains the real unknown.
For players who want to revisit the series while the news develops, the Killzone: Shadow Fall guide collection is a solid place to get reacquainted with what made the PS4 entry tick. Broader gaming guides are also available if you're catching up on other titles in the meantime.
The next concrete signal will likely come from Guerrilla's internal milestone schedule. If Hunters Gathering clears its December checkpoint, expect the Killzone project to move from "very early stages" to something more tangible in the months that follow.
