Despite fan speculations and pandemic-related concerns, Sony and Guerrilla Games still believe that Horizon Forbidden West will come out later this year.

Following the release of Horizon Forbidden West's first official gameplay trailer, director Mathijs de Jonge spoke to Game Informer about the video's lack of a release date. On whether it had been delayed, de Jonge said that is not the case just yet. "The development is on track," he explained. "The thing is, these are just strange times that we're all in and we have never finalized and shipped a game under these kinds of circumstances."

RELATED: Horizon Forbidden West: Trailer, Plot, Release Date & News to Know

"So we are constantly calculating our schedules and looking at, 'Okay, where are we?' and 'Are there any unforeseen things that might happen?' We just want to be super confident when we announce the release date, that we're actually going to hit it," continued de Jonge. "So we just need a little bit more time, and then we can come back with a final release date."

Talk of delays to Horizon Forbidden West comes in light of another highly anticipated PlayStation 5 title announcing exactly that. Herman Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, recently revealed that God of War: Ragnorak, the sequel to 2018's critically acclaimed God of War reboot, would launch in 2022 rather than 2021 in order to give developer Santa Monica Studios time to properly finish it.

Related: What Horizon: Forbidden West Can Learn From Breath of the Wild

During Sony's 2021 State of Play event, fans got to watch 14 minutes of Horizon Forbidden West that showcased the game's new story and combat segments. Following Aloy as she attempts to rescue her companion Erend from raiders in the post-post-apocalyptic ruins of San Francisco, the trailer features a number of new machine enemies to fight or override, like the chainsaw-mouthed Clawstrider and mammoth-like Tremortusk. In addition, Aloy can now dive underwater, use gadgets like a zipline and hang glider reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and even wield a more versatile melee system against human foes.

Developed by Guerrilla Games, Horizon Forbidden West launches for PlayStation 5. No release date has been announced yet.

KEEP READING: Horizon Zero Dawn: What Is Sylens' Secret Plan?

Source: Game Informer