Microsoft may be working on a rival to Sony’s PS4 exclusiveHorizon Zero Dawnif a recent job listing is to be believed. Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently teased thatmore first-party Xbox One games are on the way, with this game likely being part of that.
On LinkedIn, Sandor Roberts, a recruiter from video game industry recruitment specialist G3D, has posted a listing for a lead environment artist. According to the posting, which is still up on Roberts' profile as of the time of writing, the artist will be working on a “Microsoft AAA Nextgen Title” and the style will be “similar” toHorizon Zero Dawn. It’s unclear whether or not this position has been filled or whether Roberts and G3D are still scoping out potential candidates but as the job listing was posted two months ago, many are taking this to mean that the project is well underway.
Few could blame Microsoft if it wanted to create its ownHorizon Zero Dawnfor Windows PC and Xbox One. Thegame has sold 3.4 million copies and counting, with the title being called a serious system seller for PS4 platform-holder Sony. Microsoft will argue that making a game in the same vein as the open-world, robot dinosaur RPG is just good business sense.
Many will also argue thatcancelled gameScaleboundcould have been a strongHorizon Zero Dawncompetitor. While it looked decidedly less robotic, it would still have huge battles against huge enemies and could have scratched a similar itch. It would have been released in 2017 too but since that game was cancelled, PC and Xbox players will have had to look elsewhere to get that fix, with some of them likely consideringHorizon Zero Dawnitself.
Unfortunately, it’s unclear when PC and Xbox One players will be able to get their hands on thisHorizon Zero Dawn-like game. When discussing upcoming first-party titles in a recent interview, Phil Spencer suggested that he and the Xbox team do not want to announce a game too early and want to give teams the right amount of time to create these great experiences before they’re officially unveiled. Fans will be chomping at the bit for information about this one though, with many crossing their fingers that Spencer chooses to ignore his own advice and lift the lid on the game anyway.
