Killzone Reportedly Set for a PlayStation Revival After 13 Years

Killzone may be preparing for a return to PlayStation after more than a decade away. A new report says Guerrilla Games, the studio closely associated with the sci-fi shooter franchise, is expected to collaborate with an external developer on a new Killzone-related project. The work is reportedly in a very early phase, leaving the crucial question unanswered: is PlayStation bringing back an existing game, or rebuilding the property for an entirely new generation?

There has been no official announcement from Sony or Guerrilla Games, and the reported project should therefore be treated as unconfirmed. Still, the possibility is notable for a series that was once among PlayStation's most prominent first-party shooter brands. The last original entry, Killzone: Shadow Fall, arrived in 2013 as a PlayStation 4 launch title. If the report is accurate, the franchise's next step would end a 13-year stretch without a new release.

An early-stage project with several possible directions

The report suggests the prospective Killzone project could initially take the form of a remaster or remake of an earlier installment. The original Killzone, released for PlayStation 2 in 2004, is presented as the likeliest candidate for that treatment. However, the same information leaves open the possibility that a smaller revival effort could expand into a broader reboot.

Those are very different outcomes for the series. A remaster would likely focus on making a legacy game accessible on modern hardware, potentially updating performance, resolution, controls, and other areas without fundamentally reshaping its original structure. A full remake could rework the campaign, visuals, mechanics, and presentation much more aggressively. A reboot, meanwhile, could offer Guerrilla and PlayStation the chance to rethink Killzone's setting, tone, multiplayer identity, and place in a current first-party lineup.

For useful background on this topic, read Killzone Could Return as Sony Reportedly Explores a Remake or Remaster.

At this point, there is no confirmed game, target platform, launch window, developer partner, or indication of whether any revival would include a single-player campaign, competitive multiplayer, or both. The early reported state of the work also means plans could change substantially before PlayStation ever discusses it publicly.

Why the original Killzone could be a natural starting point

A return to the first game would make sense from both a historical and practical standpoint. The 2004 PlayStation 2 release established the war between the ISA and the Helghast, the conflict that defined the series through its later installments. It also introduced the bleak industrial visual identity, militarized science-fiction setting, and large-scale planetary warfare that became Killzone's signature.

Yet it is also the entry that has had the least modern visibility. The series' first three mainline games were collected in Killzone HD for PlayStation 3, allowing players to revisit the PlayStation 2 original alongside Killzone 2 and Killzone 3. That anthology has not carried forward to PlayStation 5, however. The original game has likewise not been added to the classic PlayStation 2 selection available through PlayStation Plus.

For newer PlayStation players, Killzone is consequently more of a remembered name than a readily available library. A remake or remaster could address that gap while also testing whether there is demand for a larger return. It could introduce the core conflict and world to an audience that knows Guerrilla primarily through the Horizon series rather than the studio's earlier shooters.

Killzone's long role in PlayStation history

Before Guerrilla shifted its main focus toward open-world action adventures, Killzone was a central part of PlayStation's internal portfolio. The franchise grew from the first PlayStation 2 game into one of the platform holder's most recognizable attempts to build a major console-exclusive first-person shooter.

Killzone 2, released on PlayStation 3 in 2009, became particularly important to the series' reputation. Its intense visual style, weighty gunplay, online competition, and technically ambitious presentation made it one of the defining shooters of that hardware generation. Killzone 3 followed in 2011, while 2012's Killzone: Mercenary brought the universe to PlayStation Vita with a portable campaign and multiplayer experience.

Then came Killzone: Shadow Fall in 2013. Released alongside the PS4, it was designed to showcase the visual leap offered by Sony's new console. Its campaign shifted the series into a more politically divided postwar setting, and it was joined by competitive multiplayer support. Despite the high-profile launch placement, it remains the most recent new Killzone game.

That absence has become more conspicuous as PlayStation's first-party output has evolved. Sony's major studios have delivered acclaimed action adventures, racing games, superhero games, role-playing experiences, and live-service efforts, but the company has had relatively few internally associated first-person shooter series. A modern Killzone could potentially fill a recognizable gap, provided it can establish an identity in a market far more crowded than the one the franchise last competed in.

An outside studio could be important

The reported involvement of an external studio is a key part of the rumor. Guerrilla Games has extensive history with Killzone, but the developer is also committed to its Horizon-related work. Partnering with another team could allow PlayStation to revisit the shooter property without requiring Guerrilla to divert the majority of its resources from its current projects.

One possible connection has drawn attention, though it remains speculation rather than confirmation. In March 2025, PlayStation entered a co-development agreement with People Can Fly, the developer behind Outriders. That project is known by the codename Delta and is based on an existing PlayStation intellectual property. People Can Fly has deep experience with action shooters, making it a plausible fit on paper for a Killzone project.

But no evidence has established that Delta is Killzone, or that People Can Fly is the external partner described in the recent report. The coincidence is intriguing because of the studio's genre background, not because Sony, Guerrilla, or People Can Fly has made a public connection between the two projects. Until that changes, any link should remain firmly in the realm of conjecture.

Guerrilla's Horizon commitments complicate the picture

Guerrilla is currently occupied with Horizon Hunter's Gathering, a live-service multiplayer spin-off set in the Horizon universe. The project has reportedly undergone a reboot after a recent playtest did not meet expectations. Separately, a direct continuation to Horizon Forbidden West is reportedly still years away, with much of Guerrilla's attention directed toward the multiplayer title.

That context helps explain why a collaborative approach to Killzone would be logical. Guerrilla could provide franchise knowledge, creative oversight, technical support, or production guidance while another studio handles much of the direct development. It is not clear exactly how responsibilities would be divided, and there is no indication that Guerrilla is leading a full new Killzone game internally.

It also means fans should be cautious about assuming a near-term reveal. A project that is reportedly early in development, attached to a studio managing major Horizon work, could be years from release even if it eventually proceeds. A remaster may require a different scale of production than a remake or reboot, but none of those paths currently has a confirmed timetable.

What a modern Killzone would need to prove

Reviving the name would not be enough on its own. The shooter landscape has changed significantly since 2013, with live-service games, free-to-play releases, extraction shooters, annual military franchises, and cross-platform multiplayer all competing for attention. PlayStation would need to determine whether Killzone should chase that market, focus on a premium narrative campaign, offer a hybrid approach, or take another direction altogether.

The series still has useful foundations. Its Helghast imagery remains immediately recognizable, its setting supports conflict on a grand scale, and its history gives it a distinct place in PlayStation's catalog. A well-executed remake could preserve that legacy while modernizing older design conventions. A reboot could go further, redefining the franchise with contemporary movement, shooting systems, cooperative features, or multiplayer ambitions.

For now, though, PlayStation fans are left with a credible but unverified report and several open possibilities. Killzone has been absent long enough that any return would be meaningful, whether it starts with the 2004 original or launches a wholly new chapter. The next important development will be official confirmation of what the project actually is--and which team is building it.