Guerrilla Games' upcoming multiplayer spin-off of its mainline open-world Horizon series, Horizon Hunters Gathering, is set to have its second closed beta playtest later this month, from May 22-25, 2026. The closed playtest adds two new characters for players to try out, a new story mission from the game's narrative, a new region to explore, and an increased challenge with more difficult missions and changes to one of its core game modes.
The game's first closed playtest, which, just like this upcoming one, you'll need an invite to participate in, took place at the cross between February and March of this year, the same time as the Marathon Server Slam Test, the weekend before it launched.
It ran on both PC and PS5, as will this one, and if you're interested in participating, you can register for the PlayStation Beta Program for a chance to check out the latest Horizon game that isn't a mainline follow-up to Forbidden West.
The new test will include the Hunters available in the first playtest, Rem, Sun, and Axle, all with their own improvements, alongside new Hunters Ensa and Shadow, a mercenary and covert operative, respectively. A playable Episode, showcasing the first of Horizon Hunters Gathering's narrative-driven missions that will introduce "new mysteries, characters, and mechanics."
A revamp of the Machine Incursion and Cauldron Descent modes to ramp up the difficulty by adding new difficulty levels to the former and making it "a longer, multi-stage trial" for the latter, a new region for players to explore called Breakers' Bounty and the introduction of Training Modules "to improve general onboarding for the game and its systems."
The Training Modules will also give you a chance to try out solo play by adding two NPC hunters to whichever mission you choose to play as a module. Overall, it seems like this second test is a much broader vision of what the full gameplay loop might be like, between playing co-op with others in two of the core modes, playing solo, and playing through the narrative-driven missions that will hopefully bring something fresh not found by jumping into your fifth Cauldron Descent in a session.
But even if that is the case, it's not likely many more will get to see it, since Guerrilla seems bent on keeping these playtests on the smaller scale, for now.
"We want to emphasize again," game director Arjan Bak wrote in the PlayStation Blog post announcing the playtest, "Horizon Hunters Gathering is a game in development; we choose to playtest early and with small numbers to focus on the core experience and implement player feedback before opening to bigger groups of players. We learn a lot from each playtest and this second one is no different; we appreciate each of you who take the time to leave us your honest thoughts."
So, at least for now, we can expect to see a smaller number of players checking it out later this month, but hopefully by the third playtest, more players will have the chance to try it out. Perhaps it'll be the game's first open beta test rather than a closed test.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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