LEGO Horizon Adventures Developer Reveals Why the Game is Coming to Nintendo Switch

Guerrilla Games hopes to expand the audience for its Horizon series.

By Marc Deschamps

Last week at Summer Game Fest, PlayStation first-party studio Guerrilla Games announced LEGO Horizon Adventures. There have been physical LEGO sets released based on the Horizon series, so the announcement wasn't totally out of left field. However, many people were surprised by the game's platforms; in addition to launching on PlayStation 5 and PC, the game will be appearing on Nintendo Switch. This will mark the first time Horizon will appear on a Nintendo system, and many are wondering what prompted that decision! Speaking to Video Games Chronicle, narrative director James Windeler said that putting LEGO Horizon Adventures on Switch will help expand the audience for the series. 

"It was just a really unique opportunity for us. It was a natural fit for the ambitions that we had. I keep mentioning it, but we want this to be for everyone, and the Switch is really a platform that allows us to broaden the audience," said Windeler. "That ethos goes all the way through the game, from the control schemes which are quite simple, [for example] it works on a single Joy-Con, and then also the simplification of the story, the lightening of the themes, the humour – it's all part of the same ambition."

Will This Get Switch Owners to Try Other Horizon Games?

Presumably, PlayStation and Guerrilla don't plan to bring games like Horizon Zero Dawn to Nintendo systems, so it appears the goal is to get Switch owners interested in buying a PS5 if they don't own one already. That strategy actually lines up well with recent comments from PlayStation co-CEO Herman Hulst. During a PlayStation business briefing last month, Hulst shared his hope that the company's PC releases will get audiences to try out "sequels on the PlayStation platform." 

A lot of PC users scoffed at those comments last month, but it will be interesting to see if these decisions lead to more people discovering PlayStation franchises. Horizon has become a pretty big deal for Sony over the last seven years, with multiple games released on PlayStation platforms, and an adaptation in the works at Netflix. LEGO Horizon Adventures could potentially win over people that have never played a previous Horizon game. 

LEGO Horizon Adventures Release Date

At this time, a specific release date has not been revealed for LEGO Horizon Adventures. However, the game is currently slated to arrive sometime during the holiday 2024 window, so we can probably expect it to release sometime in November or December. 

Are you planning to try out LEGO Horizon Adventures? Have you played any previous games in the series? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

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