NCSOFT announces MMORPG Horizon Steel Frontiers for PC, iOS, and Android

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NCSOFT, working with Sony and Guerrilla Games, is creating a new online RPG called Horizon Steel Frontiers. The game is set in the world of the Horizon series and will be available on PC, iOS, and Android through the PURPLE platform. No release date has been announced yet.

Here are the first details, via its official website:

  • Genre – The first MMORPG in the Horizon universe. A fierce survival adventure in a world where threats lurk at every turn.
  • World – Deadlands, a frontier for machine hunters. Embark on a new journey across an awe-inspiring landscape and a vast open world.
  • Combat – Inspired by Horizon’s familiar hunting action. Experience large-scale raids with an advanced combat system.
  • Platforms – Mobile and PC via PURPLE. Free play within one seamless world.
  • Customization – Forge your own machine hunter in a post-apocalyptic world. Create your identity with deep customization and boundless freedom.

Here’s what NCSOFT’s Taekjin Kim, Guerrilla Games’ Jan-Bart van Beek, and NCSOFT’s Sung-Gu Lee had to say, as shared in the announcement video:

Taekjin Kim, NCSOFT Chief Corporate Officer

I first played Horizon Zero Dawn back in 2017, and I was immediately hooked! The world was just so beautiful and really pulled me in. Fighting those huge, robotic creatures was a total rush, and the story was so intriguing that I had to uncover everything. But honestly, it did feel a little lonely exploring such an amazing place all by myself. I kept thinking how awesome it would be to play with friends, team up, and take on those giant machines together.

I always believed fighting robots would be more thrilling than battling fantasy creatures. That idea led us to develop this new online world, and today, I’m excited to introduce Horizon Steel Frontiers – a long-held dream come true. Horizon Steel Frontiers is a fresh challenge for our team at NC, and the beginning of a fantastic adventure. We hope you’re as excited about this new Horizon—created through the partnership of NC and Guerrilla—as we are!

Jan-Bart van Beek, Guerrilla Games Studio Director

I created the original idea for the Horizon series. It’s a project that means a lot to me and to the entire team at Guerrilla. We’ve put so much passion into building this world where humanity, nature, and technology constantly interact. It’s evolved into a rich, dynamic place with compelling stories, diverse tribal cultures, and the amazing, animalistic machines that dominate the landscape.

We always envisioned the Horizon universe as something players could enjoy in a variety of ways. Horizon Steel Frontiers is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by NCSOFT exclusively for mobile devices. Steel Frontiers lets you immerse yourself in this world whenever and wherever you like.

In this game, you play as a hunter in the Deadlands, a wild region modeled after Arizona and New Mexico. You’ll share this frontier with thousands of other players, sometimes teaming up to defeat powerful machines, and other times competing with other groups for valuable resources. This blend of teamwork and rivalry leads to unpredictable and exciting moments.

The core of the Horizon story explores the delicate relationship between people, nature, and technology – sometimes peaceful, sometimes fraught with conflict. This creates a world that’s both beautiful and full of secrets. We want players to experience the world’s ability to bounce back and its underlying sense of hope, and to believe that even in the face of huge challenges, humans can adapt, endure, and find purpose.

We were already enjoying playing Horizon Steel Frontiers as a team at the studio, and it’s been fantastic. Whenever I’ve had the chance to test early versions of the game, I’m most impressed by its unique atmosphere and style. It truly feels like its own game, created by the talented developers at NCSOFT, but it also seamlessly blends into the Horizon universe. That combination of familiar Horizon elements and fresh ideas is what makes me so enthusiastic about this project.

Sung-Gu Lee, NCSOFT Executive Producer

I’m definitely feeling a mix of nerves and excitement about finally showing off this project. The main idea behind Horizon Steel Frontiers is simple: the rush of battling giant machines. Taking down these massive machines was a huge part of what people loved about the original Horizon games, and now we’re bringing that experience to a massive online world.

We’re really focusing on making combat feel new and exciting in our MMORPG, Horizon Steel Frontiers. When you take on the giant machines, it’s not just about hitting them until they fall. We’ve added some cool stuff like being able to use a Pullcaster to quickly climb onto a machine after damaging a part, then set traps on it to inflict status effects. And get this – you can even pick up weapons dropped by the machines, load them onto your mount, and use them in the next fight! Really, the whole idea behind taking down these massive machines is about teamwork and smarts. You have to play your role, think strategically, and coordinate with others. These mechanics really come alive in big battles, giving you that huge, dynamic experience you expect from an MMORPG.

In Horizon Steel Frontiers, you get to create a truly unique hero. We’ve focused heavily on customization, letting you personalize everything, right down to the smallest details. When you create your character, you can choose from the familiar tribes of the Horizon world – Nora, Tenakth, Utaru, and Oseram – and build your character around that tribe. Our system gives you a lot of freedom to design exactly the hero you want, including facial features, body type, hair, and even makeup. You can also share your creations with other players to show off your style and get inspired. Come to Horizon Steel Frontiers as a one-of-a-kind machine hunter, built by you, in a world where being yourself matters.

I’m so excited about Horizon Steel Frontiers! From what I’ve heard, we’ll get to create our own characters and join forces with friends to take down these massive machines in the Deadlands. It sounds like we’ll really get to live the life of a machine hunter, and honestly, I can’t wait to become a hero in that world. The developers are working hard to make it happen, which is awesome!

Watch the announcement video and gameplay trailer below.

Announce Video

Gameplay Trailer

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2025-11-13 06:48