Sony

How many copies did Horizon sell? — 2023 statistics

Horizon's future is looking bright.

Fact-checked
First Released
February 28, 2017
Genre
Action role-playing
Developer
Guerilla Games
Publisher
Sony

The premise of a game is what makes it appealing to a larger audience, and when you constantly release the same game with a slightly different premise each time, it might not strike audiences the same way. This is why you have so many different games on the market and why you sometimes see games with fantastic settings come out like the Horizon series. The Horizon series falls into the ARPG genre as is set in a dystopian world where humanity has devolved back into tribes that struggle to survive against the mechanical beasts that have taken over the world. Because of the quality of the games, they have achieved a cult-like following with no signs of stopping, so we’re going to be taking a look at some Horizon statistics to see how the series has grown since the first game was released in 2017. Now, reading up on stats about a specific game is one thing, but if you want to broaden your knowledge with more information, check out how much the video game industry is worth!

Horizon key stats

This section of statistics is going to take a look at some general information surrounding the Horizon series and the achievements it has made since the first game came out. Because of the popularity of the games, they have reached many corners of the gaming industry, so there is a lot of stuff to look over. Without further ado, let’s take a look!

Horizon Zero Dawn sold 20 million copies across PS4 and PC.

(Source: IGN)

  • The total number of copies sold doubled since 2019.
  • Horizon Zero Dawn joined Uncharted 4, God of War (2018), and The Last of Us in the 20 million+ sales club.
  • This is a massive achievement for Guerilla games and it bodes well for future Horizon Games.

Okay, in this first line of stats, we see that the first game in the Horizon series has accumulated a formidable number of sales within two years of the game’s release, which is a massive achievement as this means the game gained the same notoriety as some of the heaviest hitters in the Playstation marketplace, such as God of War (2018) and The Last of Us. This is a good number for the next game in the series to aim for, but we’ll touch up on that in the rest of the points we have to make.

Horizon Forbidden West has sold over 10 million copies.

(Source: Play3)

  • Nearly one year after the release of the sequel, it gathered half of the total sales of its predecessor.
  • The sales of the second game could have been much higher if the game hadn’t been released at the same time as Elden Ring, which was a massive success.
  • Horizon Zero Dawn had a similar issue during its release period.
  • The total number of Forbidden West sales was lowered by 80% in the UK, likely due to the popularity of Elden Ring.

Even though there are no official statistics posted by PlayStation in regard to the sales of Horizon Forbidden West, there are some rough estimates for how many copies the game has sold and it puts it to about half of what its predecessor made in the previous year. Realistically speaking, Horizon Forbidden West was held back by all of the other games that were released around its debut period, and there was some Twitter drama surrounding the developer of Horizon Forbidden West where he criticized Elden Ring’s quest design and UI.

Rumors speculate that Horizon Zero Dawn has made over $400 million.

(Source: That Hashtag Show)

  • This number was leaked in 2019, and the total revenue that Horizon Zero Dawn has generated is most likely much higher.
  • God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn have generated over $1 billion in revenue for PlayStation.

Again, PlayStation doesn’t make a habit of constantly releasing revenue updates for its games, at least not in as detailed a manner as you’d expect. However, based on some of the announcements and updates released by PlayStation, we can confidently say that this information is correct in most respects. God of War made half a billion dollars for Playstation, while the latest data, from 2019, tells us that Horizon Zero Dawn made over $400 million, which is amazing for both the company and the gaming industry as a whole.

The Horizon series is going to be a trilogy.

(Source: GameRant)

  • The horizon series is going to be a trilogy, and players can expect the next game to come out sometime in 2027.
  • This is because there was a five-year gap between the first two games.
  • The setting of the next game is not yet confirmed, although speculation points to the possibility of it being set in another part of the United States.
  • The ending of the third game sets up a perfect scenario from which the third game can start. Don’t worry, no spoilers.

Given that the end of the second game ended by presenting a basis for further action, it was no surprise that there is going to be a third game that makes Horizon into a trilogy was announced in the first place. Of course, since all we have is the confirmation that a new game is coming out, there is not much information that we can provide you with, but we will be ready with any and all new information as soon as it becomes available.

Horizon Twitch and user stats

In this next section, we are going to take a look at some of the statistics surrounding the Horizon series when it comes to its user base and Twitch viewership stats. Although there is not much information in regard to these statistics, we’ll try our best to provide you with as complete an overview as we can to make sure you get all the information you need!

Horizon Zero Dawn players fired 359.5 million bow shots in the first year of the game’s release.

(Source: Flickr)

  • 61.7 million bombs were slung.
  • 24.2 million wires were cast.
  • 9.7 million ropes were cast.
  • 3.6 million bolts were fired.
  • 2 million Tearblast charges were fired.
  • 668,000 Icerail shots were fired.
  • Sawtooths killed 20.9 million players.
  • Thunderjaws killed 18.2 million players.
  • Bellowbacks killed 15.9 million players.
  • 194 billion Shards were collected.
  • 40.7 billion pieces of Ridgewood were collected.
  • 574 million Corruption Glaze Roots were collected.
  • 535 million Fire Kiln Roots were collected.
  • 89% of players spared Olin.
  • 54% of players did not fight Nil.
  • Players overrode 57.5 million Striders.
  • Players overrode 51 million Watchers.
  • Players overrode 35.1 million Broadheads.

We always love it when video game publishers publish user statistics for their games because it gives everyone a good perspective on the sorts of achievements that the players bring to the game; and because they make our job a lot easier. Looking at the stats for Horizon Zero Dawn, we can see that players have devoted a lot of time to destroying machines and collecting wood, and we can’t wait to see what players manage to do in Horizon Forbidden West!

Horizon Zero Dawn has 3.8 million hours watched on Twitch.

(Source: SullyGnome)

  • The game has 411,942 broadcasting hours.
  • The game had 432 average viewers.
  • There were 47 average channels streaming the game.
  • It had a viewer ratio of 9.3.
  • There were 45,573 broadcasters that streamed the game.

Of course, as new games come out and they replace the older ones, you are going to see a drop in Twitch viewership as a result. When it comes to Horizon Zero Dawn, we can see that its viewership has also dipped over the years, but it still has a decent amount of hours watched as well as broadcasting hours.

Horizon Forbidden West has 14 million hours watched on Twitch.

(Source: SullyGnome)

  • The game has 1.2 million broadcasting hours.
  • The game had 1,603 average viewers.
  • There were 139 average channels streaming the game.
  • It had a viewer ratio of 11.5.
  • There were 96,096 broadcasters that streamed the game.

Now, looking at the second game in the Horizon series, we can see that this one has a significantly higher number of both hours streamed and watched, which is a good sign for the overall popularity of the franchise and future games to come. Although this game has not gotten the same level of Twitch attention as other games, like God of War (2018), its numbers are still admirable and worthy of praise.

To sum up

Alright, now you know everything you need to about the impressive Horizon series to prepare for any new games that release in the future! This game series has changed the standard for what a PlayStation exclusive should be as it is immersive, packed with content, and thoroughly unforgettable. Guerilla Games has accumulated some pretty notable accolades since the first game was released in 2017, and we are sure that any games released in the future will follow the examples set by the previous two. Anyway, that would be all we have to say about the Horizon series and we sincerely hope that you are happy with the quality of the information presented here.

Sources

  • “Horizon Zero Dawn Has Sold Over 20 Million Copies Across PS4 and PC”. IGN, 2022, https://www.ign.com/articles/horizon-zero-dawn-20-million
  • “Horizon: Zero Dawn Passes 10 Million Copies Sold”. IGN, 2019, https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/02/28/horizon-zero-dawn-passes-10-million-copies-sold
  • “Sales number of Elden Ring proves Horizon Forbidden West developer wrong as the latter’s sales fall by 80%”. Sportskeeda, 2022, https://www.sportskeeda.com/esports/sales-number-elden-ring-proves-horizon-forbidden-west-developer-wrong-latter-s-sales-fall-80
  • “Horizon Forbidden West: Großteil der europäischen Verkäufe entfiel nicht auf Bundles”. Play3, 2023, https://www.play3.de/2023/01/11/horizon-forbidden-west-grossteil-der-europaeischen-verkaeufe-entfiel-nicht-auf-bundles/
  • “Alleged Twitter Leak: God of War Made Half a Billion, Horizon Zero Dawn Made $400 Million”. That Hashtag Show, 2020, https://thathashtagshow.com/2020/12/22/alleged-twitter-leak-god-of-war-made-half-a-billion-horizon-zero-dawn-made-400-million/
  • “Horizon Zero Dawn 1-Year Anniversary Infographic”. Flickr, 2018, https://www.flickr.com/photos/playstationblog/38772822370
  • “Horizon Zero Dawn”. SullyGnome, 2023, https://sullygnome.com/game/Horizon_Zero_Dawn/365/summary
  • “Horizon Forbidden West”. SullyGnome, 2023, https://sullygnome.com/game/Horizon_Forbidden_West/365/summary
  • “5 Places The Next Horizon Game Could Be Based”. GameRant, 2023, https://gamerant.com/next-horizon-game-location-ideas/#south-america
Expert Writer