Fans expecting the next chapter in Aloy’s story woke up to something completely different this week. Sony and NCSoft have teamed up to introduce Horizon Steel Frontiers, an online MMORPG designed for mobile and PC, not PlayStation. It’s a surprising shift for a franchise known for single-player adventures, but the reveal trailer makes one thing clear – this new world still feels unmistakably Horizon, just built for a different kind of play.
Horizon Steel Frontiers and the Deadlands Setting
Instead of revisiting the lands we already know, Steel Frontiers drops players into the Deadlands, a harsh region shaped by deserts, canyons, and the cracked remains of old-world cities. The setting seems inspired by Arizona and New Mexico – wide open, sun-burned, and filled with mechanical creatures lurking behind every ridge.
Even with the new scenery, the Horizon DNA is intact. Crumbling skyscrapers are tangled in greenery. Tribal settlements sit near ancient ruins. And everywhere you look, machines wander freely, just waiting for trouble.
Horizon Steel Frontiers and Its New Combat Style
One major difference jumps out the moment the fighting begins. Horizon has always leaned heavily on long-range combat and precision shots. Steel Frontiers shakes things up.
Weapons are bigger. Blades hit harder. Characters rush into close-quarters fights rather than staying back with a bow. The trailer’s lead character wields a huge greatsword, while other players slice through armor with dual blades. Archery still exists, but melee is clearly the star.
New mechanics also enter the mix. Players can charge attacks to parry, deflecting machines mid-strike, a fresh idea for this universe. And after breaking specific machine parts, you can grapple onto the target with a Pullcaster and plant traps directly on exposed components. It feels closer to Monster Hunter than any previous Horizon game, emphasizing roles, teamwork, and coordinated strikes.
Machines Are Everywhere – Old, New, and Terrifying
Steel Frontiers’ trailer shows a massive lineup of machines. Some are familiar. Some are new nightmares entirely.
Here are a few highlights:
- Slaughterspine returns, complete with missile storms.
- Fireclaw, the fire-belching bear machine, looks even more aggressive.
- A brand-new serpent-like monster steals the spotlight, twisting between the sand like a mix of Slitherfang and Rockbreaker.
- Smaller machines – Watchers, Grazers, Ravagers, Shellwalkers, Plowhorns – fill the environment, making the world feel alive and unpredictable.
One moment that stands out shows a group attempting to topple a Tallneck. Instead of climbing it peacefully like in the single-player games, players seem to be treating it as a massive cooperative climbing puzzle. It’s a fresh spin on a classic Horizon icon.
Horizon Steel Frontiers and Its New Mount Options
Mounts appear to play a huge role. Bristlebacks, Chargers, and Sunwings are all shown as rideable companions. But the surprise addition is the Stalker mount – a stealthy, panther-like machine that uses cloaking technology. Seeing players sprint across the desert on an invisible machine is a little surreal, but extremely cool.
The trailer also hints that you can attach machine weapons to your mounts and carry heavy gear from one hunt to another – something the single-player games never offered.
With how MMORPGs typically work, it wouldn’t be shocking if even more mounts become available later. And yes, fans are already hoping this is finally the game that lets us ride a Thunderjaw.
Cauldrons Become Multiplayer Dungeons
Buried beneath the Deadlands are massive underground Cauldrons – machine-producing facilities that Horizon players know well. In Steel Frontiers, these areas look like full multiplayer dungeons. Teams enter together, fight through mechanical defenses, and likely earn rare overrides or parts at the end.
The design fits naturally into the MMORPG formula, but the vibe is very much Horizon – dark halls, glowing circuitry, and ominous machine silhouettes lurking around corners.
A New Visual Direction
The world is familiar. The gameplay ideas are familiar. But the characters? Not so much.
Steel Frontiers leans into a more Eastern, anime-inspired aesthetic. Characters look closer to something from Final Fantasy or NCSoft’s own Lineage series than Guerrilla’s grounded visual style. You’ll notice sharper features, softer colors, and even some cute, playful touches – one character wears metallic cat ears, something Aloy would never even consider.
That said, you’re not locked into a cartoonish look. The character creator seems fairly detailed, letting players design heroes from the Nora, Tenakth, Utaru, or Oseram tribes. That choice might affect co-op roles or PvP team alignment.
Built for Co-Op, Competition, and Long Hunts
From the trailer, it’s clear that cooperation sits at the heart of Steel Frontiers. Teams coordinate roles, break parts together, and set up combos that maximize machine damage. The narration also hints at PvP scenarios, likely tied to tribal allegiances.
Whether you’re exploring with a friend, tackling Cauldrons with a squad, or hunting giant machines as a group, Steel Frontiers seems designed around shared experiences rather than solo adventures.
A New Horizon Game in a New Place
Steel Frontiers doesn’t replace the main Horizon storyline. It doesn’t try to be Forbidden West 2. Instead, it offers something different – an alternate doorway into the same universe.
It keeps the feeling of hunting towering machines. It keeps the ruins, the mysteries, the tribal cultures, and the thrill of watching armor fly off a robot’s flank. But it changes how you interact with that world. More melee. More teamwork. More freedom to build your own character and identity.
And for the first time ever, you’ll be playing Horizon not on a console, but on your phone or PC.
Whether this new direction excites or confuses fans remains to be seen. But one thing is certain – the universe of Horizon just got a lot bigger.
