LEGO Horizon Zero Dawn Releasing on Switch Because Sony Targeting “Family Friendly Audience,” Xbox Excluded to “Push Hardware Limits” on PS5

In case you didn’t know, Guerrilla Games’ Horizon franchise is set to become the first PlayStation first-party IP to become a LEGO game. Not only that, but it’s also the first Sony first-party game that’s being released on the Nintendo Switch.

Given this is the first time a PlayStation first-party IP is being released on a rival platform, what was Sony’s decision behind this? When asked why LEGO Horizon Adventures is releasing on Switch, James Windeler, Narrative Director at Guerrilla Games, explained it’s due to Sony’s desire to bring the Horizon franchise, “to a much broader audience, including a family-friendly audience and a younger audience.”

OK, that’s well and pretty reasonable, but what’s not is given the game’s already releasing on a competing platform, why not release it on Xbox Series X|S as well, no? Windeler was also asked why LEGO Horizon Adventures isn’t releasing on Xbox, and the answer given was odd, to say the least, as Windeler said, “Right now, we’re just very much focused on pushing this hardware to its limits and making this game look as absolutely amazing as it can possibly be on this hardware,” and the dev further added,, “And you know, we don’t really have anything to announce about Xbox right now.”

Given the game is being released on a much weaker platform (the Nintendo Switch), Windeler’s reasoning really makes zero sense. How can they focus on pushing the hardware to its limits when the title is being released on much inferior hardware, and not on an Xbox Series X|S, which is, more or less, at par with the PS5’s hardware capabilities. But hey, I’m not a developer, so what do I know, right?

LEGO Horizon Adventures is set for release this Winter 2024 on the PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC, and is being developed by Studio Gobo alongside Guerrilla Games.

[Source: GameFile (subscription required)]

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