PlayStation responds on why it's bringing LEGO Horizon Adventures to Nintendo Switch but not Xbox

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Despite launching on Nintendo Switch, LEGO Horizon Adventures will not be coming to Xbox or PlayStation 4.

LEGO Horizon Adventures Thunderjaw
(Image credit: PlayStation Studios)

What you need to know

  • LEGO Horizon Adventures is an upcoming LEGO version of PlayStation and Guerrilla Games' Horizon franchise. 
  • Co-developed by Guerrilla Games and Studio Gobo, LEGO Horizon Adventures features classic LEGO humor and shenanigans, with brick-based recreations of machines like the Tallneck and Thunderjaw. 
  • LEGO Horizon Adventures is launching later in 2024 on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Nintendo Switch, but not Xbox consoles or PlayStation. 
  • Speaking with Stephen Totilo for Game File, the developers stated that they "don't really have anything to announce about Xbox right now."

We have some non-answers regarding chosen platforms for one of PlayStation's upcoming games. 

LEGO Horizon Adventures, a LEGO-fied version of PlayStation' Horizon games that's being co-developed by Guerrilla Games and Studio Gobo, is currently in development for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Nintendo Switch, the latter of which is remarkably unusual for non-MLB PlayStation Studios games. Despite being far more multiplatform than normal, the game has not been announced for Xbox consoles.

Speaking with Stephen Totilo for his one-man newsletter Game File (where he also talks about the making of upcoming PlayStation 5 title Astro Bot), Guerrilla Games narrative director James Windeler noted that the game was meant to push PlayStation 5 hardware and "look as amazing as it can possibly be" on the system. 

When asked by Totilo about why it was coming to Nintendo Switch, Windeler explained that the decision helped the team to go after a "family-friendly audience and a younger audience" than would otherwise have been possible. Upon being asked about Xbox however, Windeler simply said that "You know, we don't really have anything to announce about Xbox right now."

LEGO Horizon Adventures is slated to launch later in 2024

Players can collect and customize LEGO versions of characters like Aloy and Varl. (Image credit: PlayStation Studios)

Like other LEGO games, LEGO Horizon Adventures features co-op, with full cross-platform play on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Nintendo Switch. Players can collect LEGO versions of characters like Aloy and Varl, taking on machines such as the Thunderjaw.

There's no release date right now, but when the game was unveiled earlier in the year as part of Summer Game Fest 2024, it was announced to be coming later in the year. 

Analysis: Not too surprising, but curious all the same

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While the way the non-answer is given is amusing, it seems perfectly obvious what's really going on. For PlayStation, this kind of game only really makes sense if it has a wide audience, something that can't quite be guaranteed from even PlayStation 5 and PC players, but the company also can't bring it to PlayStation 4 because it needs to push its own newer hardware. As a result, the best option to be found is through also bringing it to Nintendo Switch. 

As for Xbox, while it definitely won't be included at launch, I don't think an eventual port is completely impossible. PlayStation does already bring MLB games to Xbox, so porting games like LEGO Horizon Adventures after the initial wave of players have already been garnered elsewhere makes a degree of sense.

No matter what else happens, the list of PlayStation Studios games on Windows PC is growing faster than ever, and it's abundantly clear PlayStation (like Xbox) is no longer completely constraining itself to one piece of console hardware.

As an aside, kudos to Totilo for the work he's putting into Game File. In his most recent newsletter, he also talks with Team Asobi about the upcoming awesome-looking Astro Bot, and I encourage reading it. 

Samuel Tolbert
Samuel Tolbert
Freelance Writer

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.

3 Comments Comment from the forums
  • fjtorres5591
    Sony still believes that for Playstation to survive, XBOX must die.
    Wrong on both counts.
    All they're doing is leaving money they need on the table.

    Microsoft, on the other hand, is perfectly willing to make money everywhere they can. Which will be useful as next gen games get even more expensive.
    Reply
  • John McIlhinney
    What they do is up to them but the fact that they won't be honest about it shows that they know it's wrong, from the perspective that it is self-serving and anti-gamer. It's questionable whether they actually are serving themselves though. They may be cutting off their nose to spite their face.
    Reply
  • fjtorres5591
    John McIlhinney said:
    What they do is up to them but the fact that they won't be honest about it shows that they know it's wrong, from the perspective that it is self-serving and anti-gamer. It's questionable whether they actually are serving themselves though. They may be cutting off their nose to spite their face.
    Not the first time.
    MLB forced them to do the Show and their explanation was a petulant "It wasn't our idea."

    However you count the numbers, XBOX controls about a quarter of the console market and in some genres (WRPGs, single player FPS) over 50%. Their tactics are childish and self-defeating.

    Where would Office be if MS didn't suport Macs and mobile, leaving the door open for competitors?

    But, hey, as Napoleon(?) said, "Never interrupt an enemy when he's making a mistake." Let them live with the consequences (Helldivers, anyone) of their strategy.
    Reply