It’s been rumoured since at least 2022, but a recent listing on the US’ ESRB video game ratings portal looks to have properly outed an upcoming “remaster” of the original 2017 entry in the Horizon franchise, appropriately dubbed Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered.
The rating, which can be found right here and was picked up and shared by Resetera users, doesn’t provide any detailed information about what the remastering effort entails for this game, but it lists the game for both PS5 and PC. The content description as it relates to the game’s rating decision is essentially identical to what’s written out for the PS4 and PC original.
Although it may not be surprising to anyone that’s been following the rumours, the idea of a remastered version of Horizon Zero Dawn is still slightly perplexing given it’s not all that old and still looks fantastic – especially running on PC or on a PS5 with backward compatibility. Even The Last of Us’ recent re-release had a decidedly PS3-era veneer to shed when that launched in 2022.
If anything, the nature of the title would suggest this’ll be a package more akin to this year’s The Last of Us Part II Remastered, which featured relatively modest visual upgrades but had enough brand-new content to make it worth a look-in for fans.
The gulf in visual and gameplay quality between Horizon Zero Dawn and its 2022 sequel Horizon Forbidden West (especially the Burning Shores expansion) is also fairly wide all things considered, so an update does have the potential to be somewhat compelling – doubly so when you consider it’d also be gunning for PS5 Pro “Enhanced” status.
Whatever the case may be, PlayStation is clearly putting a lot of stock into Horizon as a franchise. We’re still expecting to hear a release date soon for LEGO Horizon Adventures, which is due out this year, and as far as anyone can tell the multiplayer Horizon project is still kicking around in some form.
Kieran gave Horizon Zero Dawn a huge 9.3/10 when it originally launched on the PS4 in 2017, calling it a “technically magnificent action-RPG that blends a deep story with thrilling and diverse combat to deliver a killer exclusive for PS4,” in his review.
