Horizon Forbidden West finished strong this 2023 as one of the most popular console releases of the year, but there’s still one more surprise in store for the machine-hunting RPG. An Alpha build of the game was leaked online on PSXHAX.

The leaked build, mysteriously named “TestGame,” found its way to the website out of nowhere. The build was apparently sent out to people who were tasked to test the game out during the COVID pandemic. As countries restricted people from meeting each other all the time, it’s not surprising that game studios had to resort to this form of testing.

What’s interesting about Alpha build leaks is that these versions often have content that was either reworked before the release version of the game or simply scrapped entirely. This was the case with the recent Halo 3 leak, which showcased a leaning feature that did not make the final cut during its 2007 release. Unlike Halo 3, however, Horizon Forbidden West’s alpha build was leaked less than a year after the game’s release, likely due to the aforementioned remote testing.

Alpha build leak aside, there’s a lot in store for the Horizon franchise. The upcoming Burning Shores DLC is slated to arrive on April 19, and more games are in the works, including an online co-op game. There’s also an upcoming Horizon VR game called Horizon: Call of the Mountain, so fans of the franchise have plenty to look forward to. In the meantime, it’ll be interesting to see if players can find any notable scrapped features in the Alpha build of Forbidden West.