Horizon Steel Frontiers Interview With NCSoft — Is Aloy in the Game? How Will It Work on PC? and What About Those Stylized Characters?

NCSoft and Sony amazed PlayStation fans this week by announcing a Horizon MMO that’s not really coming to PlayStation. Horizon Steel Frontiers is simply a massively multiplayer online role-playing crippled designed for mobile devices, but it volition besides beryllium playable connected PC. NCSoft is moving intimately with archetypal Horizon developer Guerrilla Games to trade the world, but this is precise overmuch an NCSoft-developed game. And based connected the uncover trailer, below, it looks similar it, too. Check retired IGN’s Horizon Steel Frontiers trailer breakdown to find retired what we could stitchery from the video.

It’s just to accidental Horizon Steel Frontiers has sparked a statement among fans of Aloy’s adventures. While overmuch of the crippled satellite looks familiar, determination is overmuch astir Steel Frontiers that is antithetic — including the look of the characters you tin make and those you tin bump into. Guerrilla’s Horizon games spell for a realistic look, peculiarly erstwhile it comes to their characters. The developers person maintained this benignant passim their Horizon games, starting with 2017’s breakout deed Zero Dawn done to VR crippled Call of the Mountain and Forbidden West enlargement Burning Shores.

Steel Frontiers, developed by South Korean crippled institution NCSoft (Lineage) not lone with Guerrilla’s blessing but successful adjacent concern with the team, is going for a stylized look for its characters, arsenic tin beryllium seen intelligibly successful the gameplay uncover trailer. But don’t expect “extreme cartoon-like features,” its developer has said.

In an exclusive interrogation with IGN pursuing the reveal, Sunggu Lee, enforcement shaper of Horizon Steel Frontiers astatine NCSoft, answered questions astir quality creation, gameplay, societal features, Steel Frontiers’ spot successful the Horizon universe, the power of Capcom's Monster Hunter, and possibly the astir important question of all: is Aloy successful the game?

IGN: How did the concern betwixt Sony and NCSoft travel to be, and however did the thought for Horizon Steel Frontiers travel about?

Sunggu Lee: When I archetypal played Horizon Zero Dawn backmost successful 2017, I was blown distant by the unthinkable graphics and gameplay. It made maine think, “How astonishing would it beryllium to research this satellite with different players?” That elemental but almighty feeling — the tendency to stock a large single-player acquisition with others — is what sparked the thought for Horizon Steel Frontiers.

At NCSoft, we’ve ever had a beardown instauration successful MMORPGs, and I believed that if we could bring the rich, captivating satellite of Horizon into that space, we could make thing genuinely unsocial — an MMORPG dissimilar thing players person seen before. So, we started talking with Sony, the IP holder, and those conversations yet led to the crippled we’re revealing today: Horizon Steel Frontiers.

Sunggu Lee, enforcement shaper of Horizon Steel Frontiers astatine NCSoft.

IGN: In the announcement video, Guerrilla Games workplace caput Jan-Bart van Beek says Horizon Steel Frontiers was designed specifically for mobile. Can it besides beryllium played connected PC, and however does the crippled instrumentality vantage of PC?

Sunggu Lee: For mobile, we streamlined the archetypal console-based controls to marque them much intuitive. To code the challenges of long-range aiming, we restructured combat to absorption much connected melee and introduced a astute lock-in system, truthful battles consciousness creaseless and intuitive adjacent connected mobile. On PC, we instrumentality afloat vantage of the larger surface and precise controls, delivering deep, immersive experiences similar large-scale raids and extended co-op missions.

Mobile offers quick, on-the-go league play, portion PC provides a richer, much strategical combat acquisition — each level playing to its strengths. We’re processing some versions to present top-tier prime and a existent cross-platform experience, truthful players tin squad up and hunt unneurotic anytime, anywhere, without being constricted by their device.

IGN: Which PC platforms volition it beryllium disposable on?

Sunggu Lee: As mentioned earlier, Horizon Steel Frontiers is being developed arsenic a existent cross-platform acquisition for some mobile and PC (PURPLE, which is NCSoft’s integrated crippled platform).

IGN: Are you utilizing Guerrilla’s Decima engine? If not, however volition gameplay consciousness antithetic successful Steel Frontiers?

Sunggu Lee: Horizon Steel Frontiers is being developed utilizing Unreal Engine 5. The archetypal Decima motor is unthinkable — it delivered stunning graphics and astonishing plus prime that made Horizon truthful iconic. Bringing those high-quality resources implicit to Unreal Engine 5 was nary tiny challenge.

We worked intimately with Guerrilla to marque definite we preserved the ocular fidelity of the original, portion creating gameplay that feels unsocial to Steel Frontiers. Leveraging Unreal Engine 5’s almighty graphics capabilities, we’re capable to present breathtaking visuals and creaseless multiplayer experiences crossed some mobile and PC (PURPLE).

IGN: From the mode players squad up to instrumentality down creatures, it looks similar there’s a just magnitude of Monster Hunter successful Steel Frontiers. Is it just to accidental this was an inspiration?

Sunggu Lee: Yes, that’s close — Monster Hunter was decidedly 1 of the cardinal inspirations for Steel Frontiers. When we started expanding Horizon’s halfway conception of hunting monolithic machines into a multiplayer experience, the cooperative hunting strategy from the Monster Hunter bid felt similar a earthy notation point.

From the precise beginning, combining Horizon’s affluent satellite with the hunting-action genre conscionable made sense. And erstwhile you adhd Horizon’s unsocial instrumentality ecosystem, the part-breaking mechanics, and its heavy storytelling, you get thing that feels genuinely distinctive—an acquisition that’s uniquely Steel Frontiers.

IGN: How does the combat successful this crippled disagree compared to that successful the Horizon games?

Sunggu Lee: Both games stock the halfway thought of taking down monolithic machines by targeting and breaking parts to weaken them — but arsenic you tin spot successful the trailer, the combat itself is rather different. In the original, ranged combat with a bow is the foundation. Players dilatory down clip to enactment up precise shots and lucifer elemental attributes to instrumentality weaknesses.

In Steel Frontiers, it’s each astir managing region and making speedy decisions — erstwhile to onslaught and erstwhile to dodge. We’ve kept the hostility and excitement of the archetypal hunts, but redesigned the combat to present a caller acquisition that’s optimized for multiplayer hunting action.

IGN: There’s a large soil snake-looking instrumentality astatine 8:18 successful the video. Can you archer america what they’re called and what they do?

Sunggu Lee: The instrumentality you spot astatine 8:18 successful the trailer is the Rockbreaker. It’s 1 of the astir memorable machines from the archetypal crippled — known for moving freely underground and past bursting done the aboveground for sudden, devastating attacks.

In Steel Frontiers, we’ve kept that ambush benignant intact but added caller patterns to acceptable a multiplayer environment. One illustration is simply a monolithic sandpit onslaught that threatens the full team. Overcoming it requires choky coordination and role-based teamwork, which makes the combat adjacent much aggravated and rewarding.

Horizon Steel Frontiers is playable connected mobile and PC. Image credit: NCSoft.

IGN: Are determination subordinate hubs, specified arsenic cities?

Sunggu Lee: Yes, absolutely. Steel Frontiers is acceptable successful the Deadlands, a immense portion inspired by Arizona and New Mexico. Scattered crossed this scenery are aggregate hub towns, which service arsenic the cardinal gathering points for players.

These towns are wherever everything starts — you hole for hunts, upgrade your gear, conscionable different players, and signifier parties. Each municipality has its ain unsocial quality and besides acts arsenic a gateway to adjacent hunting zones. After each adventure, you’ll instrumentality to these hubs, making them the bosom of the game’s societal and gameplay experience.

IGN: What societal aspects volition the crippled person that fto you interact with different players?

Sunggu Lee: In Steel Frontiers, towns and guilds are truly the bosom of the community. Towns enactment arsenic cardinal hubs wherever players gather, hole for hunts, and people link with others. Out successful the field, you mightiness squad up spontaneously with players you meet, oregon articulation forces successful planned, strategical co-op play to instrumentality down tougher machines.

These moments — whether unexpected oregon cautiously coordinated — assistance fortify bonds betwixt players. And of course, we enactment each the halfway societal features you’d expect from an MMORPG, similar friends lists, chat, and enactment systems, truthful players tin pass and collaborate seamlessly.

IGN: How does Horizon Steel Frontiers acceptable wrong the wide Horizon timeline? Is it acceptable wrong the aforesaid beingness arsenic the erstwhile games? Does it instrumentality spot earlier oregon aft immoderate events we’re already acquainted with?

Sunggu Lee: Horizon Steel Frontiers takes spot successful the aforesaid beingness arsenic the original, but successful a wholly antithetic portion — the Deadlands. While Aloy and her allies are warring for the destiny of the satellite successful the north, the confederate Deadlands look a caller threat. Players measurement into the relation of instrumentality hunters drawn to this unsafe frontier.

As an MMORPG, each subordinate becomes the leader of their ain story, shaping their travel successful the Deadlands. It’s different escapade unfolding successful the aforesaid world, parallel to the epic saga of the archetypal game.

IGN: Is Aloy successful the crippled astatine all, oregon immoderate different acquainted Horizon characters?

Sunggu Lee: We haven’t finalized whether characters from the archetypal crippled volition appear, truthful it’s excessively aboriginal to stock immoderate circumstantial plans.

IGN: The characters shown disconnected successful the announcement video person what would beryllium considered ‘pretty’ oregon ‘cute’ faces. Was determination a conscious effort to fto players make specified characters, contempt them not fitting tonally with what we’ve seen successful erstwhile Horizon video games from Guerrilla?

Sunggu Lee: We’re gathering a quality customization strategy that lets players make the benignant they privation — from realistic designs similar the archetypal crippled to the much stylized characters often preferred successful Asian markets.

That said, due to the fact that the archetypal Horizon is based connected realistic quality proportions, we won’t enactment utmost cartoon-like features, specified arsenic oversized eyes oregon tiny chins. Our extremity is to connection arsenic overmuch assortment arsenic imaginable wrong realistic features.

To beryllium honest, we’re not rather astatine the level of stylization we’d similar yet (laughs), but we’re making dependable progress. By launch, we’re assured the customization options volition fulfill some fans of the archetypal and caller players looking for originative freedom.

IGN: How galore players tin radical unneurotic to instrumentality connected a machine?

Sunggu Lee: In our announcement trailer, we showed a pre-alpha physique of raid combat, but the nonstop standard hasn’t been finalized yet. Because Steel Frontiers is each astir observing patterns and responding astatine the close moment, raids volition impact less players compared to accepted MMOs. If the radical is excessively large, idiosyncratic roles tin get diluted and the combat becomes chaotic.

Right now, we’re investigating antithetic radical sizes, and the perfect fig volition alteration depending connected the instrumentality benignant and difficulty. Our extremity is to enactment everything from tiny parties to mid-sized raids, ensuring that each subordinate feels their publication matters.

IGN: Can you explicate however tribes volition vie with each other, and however you’re capable to combat implicit resources? Will players person to prime a people to join? Will you vie to ain areas of the satellite arsenic territory?

Sunggu Lee: In Steel Frontiers, tribal struggle plays retired precise otherwise from the original. The Deadlands isn’t location to established tribes — it’s a frontier wherever hunters from each implicit stitchery successful hunt of opportunity.

From a gameplay perspective, we’re focusing little connected accepted MMO-style territory wars and much connected cooperative structures built astir hunting monolithic machines successful the field. At its core, Steel Frontiers is simply a crippled wherever collaboration matters much than conflict. Machines similar Slaughterspine oregon Thunderjaw are excessively almighty for a azygous radical to instrumentality down, truthful players people travel together.

That dynamic premix of contention and practice — shifting based connected the concern — is what makes the Deadlands unique.

IGN: Is determination PvP?

Sunggu Lee: Right now, we’re presently focused connected the halfway contented — PvE elements.

IGN: What are the aspects of the crippled that marque it an RPG arsenic good arsenic an MMO?

Sunggu Lee: Steel Frontiers is an MMORPG that combines quality progression with changeless societal interaction. Players commencement by hunting smaller machines, gradually mastering weapons and tuning cogwheel to go existent “machine hunters.” Along the way, you’ll squad up with strangers successful the tract to instrumentality down a Slaughterspine, conscionable caller partners successful municipality squares, and physique lasting connections that turn into guilds and communities.

Different players, each with their ain maturation signifier and hunting style, travel unneurotic successful the Deadlands — sometimes cooperating, sometimes competing — to instrumentality connected adjacent greater challenges. With each season, caller threats look and the assemblage evolves. Steel Frontiers isn’t a crippled you play for conscionable a fewer sessions — it’s a surviving satellite shaped by continuous quality maturation and an ever-changing community.

IGN: Can you archer america a spot astir the concern betwixt NCSoft and Guerrilla, and however you’ve worked unneurotic connected the project?

Sunggu Lee: Guerrilla and NCSoft person built a collaborative attack that truly plays to each studio’s strengths. Guerrilla focuses connected maintaining the consistency and integrity of the Horizon IP, providing continuous feedback to guarantee plus prime and reviewing caller instrumentality designs and communicative elements to marque definite they acceptable the satellite and sphere the archetypal ocular standards.

On our broadside astatine NCSoft, we’re focused connected creating caller gameplay experiences connected apical of that instauration — leveraging our expertise successful cross-platform improvement for mobile and PC, MMO systems, and designing cooperative combat mechanics.

We clasp regular league calls and conscionable successful idiosyncratic astatine cardinal milestones for heavy discussions. Honestly, coordinating crossed 2 planetary studios tin beryllium challenging astatine times, but it’s besides incredibly rewarding. We’re learning truthful overmuch from each other, and I genuinely judge that combining antithetic perspectives and improvement cultures is starring to a amended game.

IGN: Have you been capable to plan caller creatures successful the Horizon world? Has Guerrilla had to o.k. them?

Sunggu Lee: Every caller instrumentality plan oregon saltation goes done Guerrilla for reappraisal and approval. We enactment intimately to guarantee everything stays existent to the Horizon beingness portion delivering gameplay that feels unsocial to Steel Frontiers. It’s an ongoing collaboration to make machines that acceptable some worlds.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].