Guerrilla Games
Deep within Amsterdam, a pioneering video game studio has quietly crafted some of PlayStation's most iconic and visually stunning exclusive titles. From intense first-person shooters to expansive open-world adventures, Guerrilla Games has continuously pushed the boundaries of interactive entertainment. Join us as we explore the fascinating journey of this studio, from its humble beginnings to becoming a global force in gaming innovation. Guerrilla Games began as a merger of three small Dutch studios, evolving through early work-for-hire projects before finding its unique voice. Their groundbreaking Killzone series established a strong partnership with Sony, ultimately leading to their acquisition and status as a first-party PlayStation developer. The studio's proprietary Decima engine not only powers their acclaimed Horizon series but also forms the technological backbone for other major titles like Death Stranding.
AI Summary
Deep within Amsterdam, a pioneering video game studio has quietly crafted some of PlayStation's most iconic and visually stunning exclusive titles. From intense first-person shooters to expansive open-world adventures, Guerrilla Games has continuously pushed the boundaries of interactive entertainment. Join us as we explore the fascinating journey of this studio, from its humble beginnings to becoming a global force in gaming innovation.
- Guerrilla Games began as a merger of three small Dutch studios, evolving through early work-for-hire projects before finding its unique voice.
- Their groundbreaking Killzone series established a strong partnership with Sony, ultimately leading to their acquisition and status as a first-party PlayStation developer.
- The studio's proprietary Decima engine not only powers their acclaimed Horizon series but also forms the technological backbone for other major titles like Death Stranding.
Guerrilla Games: A PlayStation Powerhouse
Guerrilla Games, nestled in Amsterdam, Netherlands, stands as a prominent first-party video game developer, a proud member of PlayStation Studios. They've earned worldwide recognition for creating immersive, high-quality gaming experiences that define generations of PlayStation consoles.
But this celebrated studio wasn't born overnight. Its story is one of ambitious mergers, strategic acquisitions, and a persistent drive to create original worlds—a journey that began at the dawn of the new millennium.
The Origin Story: Lost Boys Games
The seeds of Guerrilla Games were sown on January 1, 2000, through the merger of three distinct Dutch development studios: Orange Games, Digital Infinity, and Formula Game Development. This new entity was initially christened 'Lost Boys Games' and operated as a subsidiary of the multimedia conglomerate Lost Boys.
Each founding studio brought unique talent to the table. Arjan Brussee, known for his work on the classic 'Jazz Jackrabbit,' led Orange Games. Martin de Ronde, founder of Formula, took the helm as managing director, overseeing a team that quickly grew from 25 to 40 people within its first year.
In its early days, Lost Boys Games aspired to create original Game Boy Color titles. However, they soon faced a common industry challenge: publishers preferred games with licensed characters over the studio's own original creations. Unwilling to compromise their vision, they pivoted.
This led to a period of 'work-for-hire' projects, where the studio developed several handheld games, including 'Dizzy's Candy Quest' and 'Rhino Rumble' for Game Boy Color, alongside 'Black Belt Challenge' and 'Invader' for the Game Boy Advance. These projects honed their craft while they sought their true breakthrough.
In 2001, Lost Boys Games became an independent entity after its parent company merged, though it remained under the ownership of Michiel Mol. The studio found new ownership in 2003 when Mol's new media company, Media Republic, acquired a majority stake—and with it came a powerful new identity: Guerrilla Games.
Forging Their Identity: The Killzone Era
Under its new name, Guerrilla Games embarked on two ambitious console projects simultaneously: 'Shellshock: Nam '67' for Eidos Interactive and 'Killzone' for Sony Computer Entertainment, both targeting the PlayStation 2. These titles, released in 2004, would prove pivotal for the studio's future.
'Killzone,' despite receiving mixed critical reception at launch, generated immense pre-release hype and went on to sell over a million copies worldwide. It quickly achieved 'Greatest Hits' and 'Platinum' status, marking Guerrilla's first major commercial success and establishing a new flagship IP.
Recognizing their potential, Sony Computer Entertainment signed an exclusive development agreement with Guerrilla in March 2004. This landmark deal meant all future games from the studio would be developed solely for Sony's PlayStation consoles, solidifying a partnership that continues to this day.
The relationship deepened further when Sony fully acquired Guerrilla Games in December 2005. This acquisition ushered in a new era of 'Killzone' titles, including 'Killzone: Liberation' for PSP, and the critically acclaimed 'Killzone 2' and 'Killzone 3' for PlayStation 3, pushing graphical and gameplay boundaries.
A New Frontier: The Horizon Universe
By the early 2010s, with the Killzone saga largely complete, Guerrilla embarked on an ambitious new direction. This period saw co-founder Arjan Brussee's departure in 2012 and significant studio expansion, with plans to grow to over 400 employees in a new Amsterdam facility.
At E3 2015, Guerrilla unveiled its brand-new intellectual property, 'Horizon Zero Dawn.' Described as a post-apocalyptic open-world action RPG, it introduced players to Aloy, a young huntress navigating a stunning world overrun by enigmatic machines. The concept instantly captivated audiences.
Released in 2017 for the PlayStation 4, 'Horizon Zero Dawn' was a monumental success, earning widespread critical acclaim and selling over 10 million copies within two years. Its success led to an expansion, 'The Frozen Wilds,' and eventually a highly anticipated PC port, bringing the adventure to an even wider audience.
The Horizon universe continued to expand with 'Horizon Forbidden West' (2022) for PS4 and PS5, pushing visual fidelity and narrative depth. Guerrilla also collaborated on 'Horizon Call of the Mountain' for PlayStation VR2, 'Lego Horizon Adventures,' and has future spin-offs and a sequel in the works—solidifying Horizon as one of PlayStation's most vital franchises.
The Power Under the Hood: Decima Engine
Central to Guerrilla's impressive visual and technical achievements is their proprietary game engine, known as Decima. This powerful technology provides the robust foundation for the stunning open worlds and intricate gameplay seen in the Horizon series.
Decima's capabilities extend beyond Guerrilla's own titles; it's famously licensed to other leading developers, most notably Kojima Productions, who utilized the engine to create the visually striking and critically acclaimed 'Death Stranding' series, showcasing its versatility and power.
Article
Guerrilla Games
Guerrilla B.V. (trade name: Guerrilla Games) is a Dutch first-party video game developer based in Amsterdam and part of PlayStation Studios. The company was founded as Lost Boys Games in January 2000 through the merger of three smaller development studios as a subsidiary of multimedia conglomerate company Lost Boys. Lost Boys Games became independent the following year and was acquired by Media Republic in 2003, renaming the studio to Guerrilla Games before being purchased by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2005. As of 2025, the company employs 385 people under the leadership of joint studio directors Jan-Bart van Beek, Joel Eschler and Hella Schmidt. It is best known for the Killzone and Horizon game series.
History
Guerrilla Games
Guerrilla is the result of a merger between three Dutch video game studios: Orange Games, Digital Infinity, and Formula Game Development. Orange Games was founded in 1993 by Arjan Brussee, the co-designer of the 1994 game Jazz Jackrabbit; Digital Infinity was founded by Arnout van der Kamp in 1995; and Formula was founded by Martin de Ronde in 1998 and sold to Lost Boys (a multimedia conglomerate company owned by Michiel Mol) in 1999. The three studios merged, forming Lost Boys Games as a subsidiary of Lost Boys on 1 January 2000. With de Ronde as managing director, the new company employed 25 people, growing to 40 by November 2000. Hermen Hulst was hired from a consulting firm to replace de Ronde as managing director the following year. In 2001, when Lost Boys merged with Swedish media company IconMediaLab, Lost Boys Games was spun off into an independent entity, though under the continued ownership of Mol.
Lost Boys Games began developing Game Boy Color games with original characters, but the studio found that publishers would rather release games including licensed characters. Because the studio did not want to compromise on significantly altering the characters it had created, it was unable to find a publisher for them. Consequently, Lost Boys Games moved on to work-for-hire projects, creating four handheld games: Dizzy's Candy Quest (Game Boy Color, 2001), Rhino Rumble (Game Boy Color, 2002), Black Belt Challenge (Game Boy Advance, 2002), and Invader (Game Boy Advance, 2002). The latter two games were published by Xicat Interactive. Mol later established a new media company, Media Republic, which acquired 75% of Lost Boys Games in 2003. Shortly thereafter, in July 2003, Lost Boys Games was renamed Guerrilla to reflect the style of its new parent company.
The developer soon began work on its two titles: Killzone (in development for Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2) and Shellshock: Nam '67 (in development for Eidos Interactive for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows). Both titles would be released the following year to mixed reception, however Killzone enjoyed pre-release hype and anticipation, and despite some backfire effect due to the media hype, Killzone went on to sell over a million copies worldwide, earning Greatest Hits and Platinum status in North America and Europe respectively. Guerrilla signed an exclusive development agreement with Sony Computer Entertainment in March 2004, that would see future development solely for Sony's line of video game consoles, the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation 3.
By late 2005, many companies, like Eidos Interactive, eyed purchasing Guerrilla; ultimately, Sony Computer Entertainment bought out the entirety of Guerrilla in December 2005. Guerrilla went on to release Killzone: Liberation for the PlayStation Portable in October 2006, Killzone 2 for the PlayStation 3 in February 2009, and Killzone 3 for the PlayStation 3 in February 2011.
By February 2012, co-founder Brussee had left the studio to join Visceral Games. As of June 2018, Guerrilla employs 250 people in its Amsterdam offices; it planned to move into a new building on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal in early 2019 and expand to at least 400 employees in this new location. In November 2019, Hulst was appointed the head of Worldwide Studios and Angie Smets, Jan-Bart van Beek and Michiel van der Leeuw became joint studio heads in his place.
During the 2015 E3 conference, Guerrilla unveiled a new intellectual property, Horizon Zero Dawn described as a "post-apocalyptic open world action role-playing game that follows the story of Aloy, a young huntress who inhabits a world that is overrun by machines, and attempts to journey across several lands to uncover her past."
In 2017, Guerrilla released Horizon Zero Dawn on the PlayStation 4. The game received widespread positive acclaim from various critics. An expansion, The Frozen Wilds, was released in November 2017. By February 2018, over 7.6 million copies had been sold, increasing to over 10 million a year later, making it one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games. In March 2020, Hermen Hulst confirmed in an interview that Horizon Zero Dawn would receive a PC port. The PC version was released on 7 August 2020.
The next game in development, Horizon Forbidden West, was first revealed at the 2020 PS5 Future of Gaming event on 11 June 2020. It is a sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn. The game released on 18 February 2022. In August 2020, Guerrilla Games moved into their new studio space. On 4 January 2022, Guerilla and Firesprite revealed that a new Horizon game is in the works for PlayStation VR2 titled Horizon Call of the Mountain. In December 2022, Sony announced that an expansion for Horizon Forbidden West named Burning Shores will be releasing on 19 April 2023 on the PlayStation 5.
In April 2023, Guerrilla Games announced multiple changes to its studio management. Co-studio head Angie Smets left the studio to become the new Head of Development Strategy at PlayStation Studios, with co-studio head Michiel van der Leeuw changing roles in which he would focus on the continuing development of the Decima engine. As part of these changes, Joel Eschler and Hella Schmidt joined Jan-Bart van Beek as the studio's new studio directors.
Technology
Guerrilla Games
Guerrilla uses a proprietary game engine now known as Decima. The Decima engine is also used by other developers, such as Kojima Productions who use it for the Death Stranding series. In April 2023, Guerrilla Games announced that the studio's technical director Michiel van der Leeuw would be focusing on the development of the engine.
Games developed
As Lost Boys Games
<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Title</th><th>Platform(s)</th><th>Publisher(s)</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2001</td><td>Dizzy's Candy Quest</td><td>Game Boy Color</td><td>Conspiracy Entertainment</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2002</td><td>Rhino Rumble</td><td>Telegames</td></tr><tr><td>Black Belt Challenge</td><td>Game Boy Advance</td><td>Xicat Interactive</td></tr><tr><td>Invader</td></tr></tbody></table>
As Guerrilla Games
<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Title</th><th>Platform(s)</th><th>Publisher(s)</th><th>Notes</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2004</td><td>Shellshock: Nam '67</td><td>PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox</td><td>Eidos Interactive</td><td>—N/a</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Killzone</td><td>PlayStation 2</td><td>Sony Computer Entertainment</td><td>—N/a</td></tr><tr><td>2006</td><td>Killzone: Liberation</td><td>PlayStation Portable</td><td>—N/a</td></tr><tr><td>2009</td><td>Killzone 2</td><td>PlayStation 3</td><td>—N/a</td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>Killzone 3</td><td>—N/a</td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>Killzone Shadow Fall</td><td>PlayStation 4</td><td>—N/a</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2017</td><td>Horizon Zero Dawn</td><td>PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows</td><td>Sony Interactive Entertainment</td><td>Also developed the expansion pack The Frozen Wilds (2017)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td>Horizon Forbidden West</td><td>PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows</td><td>Also developed the expansion pack Burning Shores (2023)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td>Horizon Call of the Mountain</td><td>PlayStation 5</td><td>Co-developed with Firesprite</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td>Lego Horizon Adventures</td><td>Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows</td><td>Co-developed with Studio Gobo</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>TBA</td><td>Horizon Hunters Gathering</td><td>PlayStation 5, Windows</td><td>Co-op multiplayer spin-off</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Horizon Steel Frontiers</td><td>Windows, Android, iOS</td><td>NCSoft</td><td>Co-development with NCSoft and XDev</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Untitled Horizon Forbidden West sequel</td><td>TBA</td><td>Sony Interactive Entertainment</td><td>—N/a</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>