Horizon Zero Dawn proved to be one of the biggest console gaming success stories of 2017. The series proved that a new IP with a female protagonist could be a commercial hit, and even Game of The Year for some. The game especially helped sell audiences on the power of 4k gaming with its stunning visuals and realistic landscapes. However, there was one missing feature that many wished could have been in the final game – co-operative gameplay. According to the game’s director, it appears that Horizon Zero Dawn almost had a co-op mode and was even functional at one point during its development.

Horizon Zero Dawn game director, Mathijs de Jonge, recently participated in an interview with YouTube gaming documentary channel Noclip. The interview takes a detailed look at the long and arduous process of developing Horizon Zero Dawn, from pitching the game all the way up to releasing it.

It is mentioned by de Jonge that the development team did in fact have a rough, but working prototype of a co-op mode for two players. It was with the hope of having even more players enjoying the game simultaneously. For those wondering why Horizon almost had this feature, but never came to the final version of the game, de Jonge gave this reason (46:00):

But we had to cut that because the programmers basically said that if we wanted to have co-op, we would also have 50% of the features we had been asking for and not 100%. And as it being the first game, we thought ‘Okay, we want the 100%’, so we dropped co-op in favor of that. And the NPCs fighting along, that is very complicated to get that right and we didn’t want to go there for this game because it’s just so much work to do that well.”

The player’s freedom to employ various gameplay styles is then brought up by de Jonge as a priority for the development team that likely benefited from the discarding of co-op gameplay. While it is sad to know this feature was cut, the final game was excellent. Hopefully some day, Aloy will have player-controlled allies at her side in her future adventures.

What do you guys think about Horizon Zero Dawn almost getting a co-op mode? Let us know in the comments below! Be sure to stay tuned for the latest Horizon news, such as the contents of the latest Horizon Zero Dawn update, here on Don’t Feed the Gamers! Follow us on Twitter to see our updates the minute they go live!