Guerrilla Games

Guerrilla Games is a developer.

Guerrilla Games Webpage, Facebook

Guerrilla Games is a development studio owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Since 2000, the team has been headquartered in Amsterdam, employing over 200 developers from 25 countries. The CEO of the company is Hermen Hulst, who also serves as Managing Director.

The history of Guerrilla Games

Guerrilla Games traces its origins to 2000, when Lost Boys Games was established in Amsterdam. The team was formed through the merger of three smaller studios: Orange Games, Formula, and Digital Infinity. In the next two years, the studio created four titles: Rhino Rumble and Tiny Toon Adventures: Dizzy's Candy Quest for the Game Boy Color, and Invader and Black Belt Challenge for the Game Boy Advance.

The PlayStation 2 era and Sony partnership

The company's official history starts in 2003, when Lost Boys sold it to the multimedia firm Media Republic. The team adopted the name Guerrilla Games at that time and started developing two new titles under the new identity. It didn't take long for their work to show results.

The release of Shellshock: Nam '67 (September 2004) helped the team gain recognition among gamers, thanks to its controversial Vietnam War setting and its availability across multiple platforms, including PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. However, the studio's next release, Killzone - a first-person shooter launched exclusively for the PlayStation 2 - had a much greater impact. The title was developed by the Japanese corporation as a direct response to the increasing popularity of the Halo series and went on to reach over one million players worldwide. At the time, Sony Computer Entertainment acquired a valuable brand, which ultimately led to an agreement with Guerrilla Games, stipulating that the studio would focus on developing games exclusively for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation 3.

PlayStation 3: A milestone in the studio's history

The studio entered a new chapter just a year later, when the second Killzone installment was shown at E3 - albeit only as a pre-rendered trailer posing as gameplay. The footage stirred controversy, but it ultimately benefited the studio - Sony acquired Guerrilla Games, bringing it into its group of developers. In 2006, the PlayStation Portable library expanded with Killzone: Liberation, a moderately successful shooter that continued the narrative established in the first installment. Over the next three years, the team worked on Killzone 2, which was released on the PlayStation 3 in 2009.

Thanks to the positive reception from players - driven largely by its high-quality graphics - the developers spent the next two years working on the third installment of their flagship series, which debuted in 2011. Arjan Brussee, one of the studio's founders, departed on February 24th and joined Visceral Games. Meanwhile, Guerrilla Games employees focused on developing a new, unannounced IP that first began circulating internally in 2010.

Horizon: Zero Dawn - A new era for the studio

In 2013, the studio released Killzone: Mercenary, another FPS set in the series' familiar universe, though this entry was developed by Guerrilla Cambridge (formerly Sony Computer Entertainment Cambridge). At the same time, the game Killzone: Shadow Fall was revealed, hitting the market with Sony's fourth console.

At E3 2015, the world got its first look at Horizon Zero Dawn - the studio's first new IP since the launch of Killzone. Prior to the launch of the studio's next flagship game in February 2017, Rigs: Mechanized Combat League arrived in 2016, developed for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR, the console's dedicated virtual reality headset. After the game came out, the studio branch behind it was shut down.

It's interesting to note that Horizon Zero Dawn was the most expensive Dutch entertainment product ever, making Guerrilla Games the only Dutch developer in the top ranks of the industry. The game was in development for six years, involving 250 Dutch developers and roughly 100 from China. The hard work paid off, with Horizon Zero Dawn receiving glowing reviews, winning many awards, and selling strongly. One year after release, the developers reported 7.6 million copies sold, and by the second anniversary, an additional 2.4 million copies had been purchased. The game got its first and only expansion, The Frozen Wilds, in August 2017.

In March 2020, Horizon Zero Dawn's PC release was officially confirmed by the developers, putting an end to persistent rumors. Many players reacted negatively to the announcement, feeling "betrayed" by the developers. However, this didn't stop the game from becoming a Steam bestseller within an hour of its release. Despite this, Horizon Zero Dawn's PC launch on August 7th, 2020, was not without its issues. Numerous technical problems caused the game to receive largely "mixed" reviews.

On June 11th, 2020, players saw the announcement of the second installment of the Horizon series, subtitled Forbidden West, which was set to release on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. The game debuted in February 2022 and received very positive feedback from both players and critics. Metacritic reported that the PS4 version earned an average critic score of 83/100, with the PS5 version at 88/100, while player ratings averaged 7.9/10.

Seizing the moment, the developers began work on an expansion titled Burning Shores, which was released in April 2023. Furthermore, Guerrilla Games assisted the Firesprite team in developing a spin-off of their flagship series, Horizon: Call of the Mountain, designed for PlayStation VR2. In March 2024, Horizon: Forbidden West - Complete Edition was released on PC through a partnership with Nixxes Software, earning both critical acclaim and commercial success.

Winds of change

In August 2020, Guerrilla Games relocated to new offices. In January 2021, Sony closed the official Killzone website, and in August 2022, it was decided to shut down the servers for the series' latest installments, Killzone: Shadow Fall and Killzone Mercenary.

In April 2023, news emerged regarding changes in the studio's management. Angie Smets, one of the founders, left the team to lead the development strategy department at PlayStation Studios. Michel van der Leeuw took charge of the team responsible for developing the Decima engine, while Joel Eschler and Hella Schmidt assumed directorial roles, working alongside Jan-Bart van Beek.

In late February 2024, it was reported that Sony Interactive Entertainment's restructuring and layoffs had affected Guerrilla Games as well. According to unofficial reports, 40 staff members - about 10 percent of the team - lost their jobs.

For the rest of 2024, Guerrilla Games worked in collaboration with Studio Gobo and Nixxes Software. The first collaboration resulted in an action-adventure game with 3D platforming elements, titled LEGO: Horizon Adventures, designed for PlayStation 5, PC, and Nintendo Switch. The second collaboration, on the other hand, gave players Horizon: Zero Dawn Remastered, a remastered version of Aloy's first adventure, developed for PC and PlayStation 5.

Decima

Decima is a game engine created by Guerrilla Games. This technology made its first appearance in Killzone: Shadow Fall. Subsequent games using the engine included Horizon Zero Dawn, Until Dawn, and Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. The technology was provided to Kojima Productions in June 2016 for the Death Stranding project. The latter was also the first game based on this engine to be released not only on PlayStation 4 but also on PC, with other titles, including the Horizon series, soon following suit.

Interestingly, the technology had no name before it was shared with Hideo Kojima and his team, as the developers never intended to release it publicly. For marketing purposes, the developers were forced to name their technology and chose a reference to the island of Dejima, historically a center of trade between the Netherlands and Japan.