# Guerrilla Games
**Guerrilla Games** is a Dutch video game development studio based in Amsterdam and a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe, known for the *Killzone* first-person shooter series and the *[Horizon](https://www.edgepedia.org/horizon-video-game-series)* open-world action role-playing franchise.[1](https://www.guerrilla-games.com/explore) The studio describes itself as one of Europe's leading game companies and today employs more than 350 professionals from 50 different nationalities.[1](https://www.guerrilla-games.com/explore)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 as Guerrilla, formed from a merger of three Dutch studios (Digital Infinity, Orange Games, and Formula Game Development)[2](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/09/20-years-of-guerrilla-the-story-of-a-playstation-studio/) • [3](https://idus.us.es/bitstreams/34d880d0-106f-4310-a623-771eaf5af817/download) |
| Sony acquisition | Acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment on 8 December 2005, joining the SCE Worldwide Studios network[4](https://sonyinteractive.com/en/press-releases/2005/sony-computer-entertainment-acquires-guerrilla-games-leading-developer-of-killzone-franchise/) |
| Location | Cultural and historical center of Amsterdam, the Netherlands[1](https://www.guerrilla-games.com/explore) |
| Main franchises | *Killzone* (four main installments and two portable games) and *Horizon* (two main titles with expansions, plus the VR spin-off *Call of the Mountain*)[5](https://gameworldobserver.com/2023/04/21/sony-acquisitions-playstation-studios-20-teams-sie) |
| Engine | Decima, a proprietary in-house engine also used by Kojima Productions for the *Death Stranding* series[6](https://automaton-media.com/en/interviews/we-ask-kojima-productions-why-theyve-stuck-to-decima-for-nearly-ten-years-chief-technology-officer-on-what-makes-death-stranding/) |
| *Horizon* sales | More than 32.7 million units worldwide as of 16 April 2023, including over 8.4 million for *Horizon Forbidden West*[2](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/09/20-years-of-guerrilla-the-story-of-a-playstation-studio/) |
| Leadership | Hermen Hulst was managing director at the time of the *Horizon* reveal and is now head of PlayStation Studios[2](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/09/20-years-of-guerrilla-the-story-of-a-playstation-studio/) |
## Origins and early years
The studio traces its origins to a merger of three smaller Dutch studios, Digital Infinity, Orange Games, and Formula Game Development.[3](https://idus.us.es/bitstreams/34d880d0-106f-4310-a623-771eaf5af817/download) Studio director Jan-Bart van Beek dates the formation of Guerrilla to 2003, when some of the future team members were making [Game Boy Color](https://www.edgepedia.org/game-boy-color) games under the name Lost Boys before deciding to pursue larger, boundary-pushing projects.[2](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/09/20-years-of-guerrilla-the-story-of-a-playstation-studio/)
As Guerrilla, the young studio took on 3D immersive games with *Shellshock: Nam '67* and *Killzone*, a gritty galactic-war first-person shooter released for [PlayStation 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-2) in 2004 that shipped close to 2 million units worldwide.[2](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/09/20-years-of-guerrilla-the-story-of-a-playstation-studio/) • [4](https://sonyinteractive.com/en/press-releases/2005/sony-computer-entertainment-acquires-guerrilla-games-leading-developer-of-killzone-franchise/) Guerrilla signed an exclusive development agreement with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe in March 2004, and Sony acquired the studio outright on 8 December 2005 to formalize the relationship as part of SCE Worldwide Studios.[4](https://sonyinteractive.com/en/press-releases/2005/sony-computer-entertainment-acquires-guerrilla-games-leading-developer-of-killzone-franchise/) At the time of the acquisition the studio was working on a new *Killzone* title for [PlayStation 3](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-3) and a further game in the *Killzone* universe for the [PlayStation Portable](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-portable).[4](https://sonyinteractive.com/en/press-releases/2005/sony-computer-entertainment-acquires-guerrilla-games-leading-developer-of-killzone-franchise/)
## The Killzone era
As a first-party Sony studio, Guerrilla produced *Killzone* sequels and expanded the series into handheld experiences, experimenting with [PlayStation](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation) hardware features such as the [PlayStation Move](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-move) motion controllers.[2](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/09/20-years-of-guerrilla-the-story-of-a-playstation-studio/) The franchise ultimately ran to four main installments and two portable games.[5](https://gameworldobserver.com/2023/04/21/sony-acquisitions-playstation-studios-20-teams-sie) *Killzone Shadow Fall* (2013) arrived on [PlayStation 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-4), where it served as a launch title for the console.[2](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/09/20-years-of-guerrilla-the-story-of-a-playstation-studio/) • [7](https://as.com/meristation/2015/01/06/reportajes/1420527600_140355.html)
By the release of *Shadow Fall* the studio had been developing *Killzone* for almost ten years and reached a turning point: it set the series aside and asked its team what they wanted to make next.[2](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/09/20-years-of-guerrilla-the-story-of-a-playstation-studio/)
## The Horizon franchise
The answer was *Horizon Zero Dawn*, an open-world adventure that began from a visual idea of primitive tribes fighting to survive in a lush landscape dominated by great machines after the collapse of modern civilization, with an iconic franchise-worthy protagonist, [Aloy](https://www.edgepedia.org/aloy).[2](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/09/20-years-of-guerrilla-the-story-of-a-playstation-studio/) The game took over six years to develop and was revealed at E3 in 2015, where Hermen Hulst, then Guerrilla's managing director, presented the first trailer to a 5,000-seat audience.[8](https://www.critic.co.nz/files/Critic-2017-9-pdf.pdf) • [2](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/09/20-years-of-guerrilla-the-story-of-a-playstation-studio/) It released in 2017 to critical and commercial success.[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/reviews/horizon-forbidden-west-review/)
The sequel, *Horizon Forbidden West*, launched on 18 February 2022 for PlayStation 4 and [PlayStation 5](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-5), with a PC version following in 2024.[10](https://www.gamesradar.com/playstation-studios-sony/) The franchise has since expanded into virtual reality with *Horizon Call of the Mountain*, comic books, and board games.[2](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/09/20-years-of-guerrilla-the-story-of-a-playstation-studio/) As of 16 April 2023 the franchise had sold through more than 32.7 million units worldwide, of which *Forbidden West* accounted for over 8.4 million.[2](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/09/20-years-of-guerrilla-the-story-of-a-playstation-studio/)
## The Decima engine
Guerrilla develops its own technology, the Decima engine, which grew out of the tools built for the *Killzone* series and was adapted for the open-world design of *Horizon*.[11](https://www.guerrilla-games.com/read/making-tools-for-big-games) • [12](https://titimag.com/mag/titi%20magazine%20november%202019%20issue.pdf) The name comes from Dejima, the artificial island in Japan where the Netherlands and Japan traded during the [Edo period](https://www.edgepedia.org/edo-period), chosen when [Hideo Kojima](https://www.edgepedia.org/hideo-kojima)'s studio agreed to use the engine on the condition that [Kojima Productions](https://www.edgepedia.org/kojima-productions) and Guerrilla develop it together as a collaborative effort.[13](https://blog.playstation.com/archive/2017/02/23/the-hideo-kojima-death-stranding-interview-strands-decima-and-guerrilla-games)
Kojima Productions has used Decima for nearly ten years across the *Death Stranding* series, sharing its engine modifications back with Guerrilla; Kojima Productions chief technology officer Akio Sakamoto credits the engine's runtime rendering analysis tools and open-world capabilities, including a *Death Stranding 2: On the Beach* scene with approximately 25 million polygons held at a stable frame rate.[6](https://automaton-media.com/en/interviews/we-ask-kojima-productions-why-theyve-stuck-to-decima-for-nearly-ten-years-chief-technology-officer-on-what-makes-death-stranding/) • [14](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/13-year-old-decima-engine-allows-death-stranding-team-to-accomplish-many-things-that-would-be-difficult-to-achieve-elsewhere/) Guerrilla's technical director Michiel van der Leeuw has described the engine's tooling as central to producing larger, more complex games at an accelerating pace.[11](https://www.guerrilla-games.com/read/making-tools-for-big-games)
## Recent developments
In February 2026 Guerrilla announced *Horizon Hunters Gathering*, a three-player cooperative action game with a more cartoony art style set in the *Horizon* world.[15](https://www.tomsguide.com/news/live/ps5-state-of-play-february-2026-live-updates) According to reporting citing Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, the project's live-service elements are being stripped out after poor playtest feedback, with the game being reimagined as a traditional cooperative multiplayer game with a story mode and a far smaller scope; Guerrilla reportedly told staff in August 2026 that it had until December to impress executives with its next milestone.[16](https://www.techradar.com/gaming/the-live-service-elements-of-horizon-hunters-gathering-are-reportedly-being-stripped-out-following-poor-feedback-as-new-details-emerge-about-several-canceled-playstation-titles) The studio has also supported external projects, including the mobile MMORPG *[Horizon Steel Frontiers](https://www.edgepedia.org/horizon-steel-frontiers)* developed by NCSOFT with Guerrilla's support.[1](https://www.guerrilla-games.com/explore)
## References
1. [Explore – Guerrilla Games](https://www.guerrilla-games.com/explore)
2. [20 Years of Guerrilla: The Story of a PlayStation Studio – PlayStation.Blog](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/09/20-years-of-guerrilla-the-story-of-a-playstation-studio/)
3. [La historia de la creación de Horizon (thesis, Universidad de Sevilla)](https://idus.us.es/bitstreams/34d880d0-106f-4310-a623-771eaf5af817/download)
4. [Sony Computer Entertainment Acquires Guerrilla Games – Sony Interactive Entertainment press release, 8 December 2005](https://sonyinteractive.com/en/press-releases/2005/sony-computer-entertainment-acquires-guerrilla-games-leading-developer-of-killzone-franchise/)
5. [Brief history of Sony's M&A deals – Game World Observer](https://gameworldobserver.com/2023/04/21/sony-acquisitions-playstation-studios-20-teams-sie)
6. [We ask Kojima Productions why they've stuck to Decima for nearly ten years – AUTOMATON WEST](https://automaton-media.com/en/interviews/we-ask-kojima-productions-why-theyve-stuck-to-decima-for-nearly-ten-years-chief-technology-officer-on-what-makes-death-stranding/)
7. [Anuncios para 2015 – MeriStation](https://as.com/meristation/2015/01/06/reportajes/1420527600_140355.html)
8. [Critic issue 9 (2017), Horizon Zero Dawn feature](https://www.critic.co.nz/files/Critic-2017-9-pdf.pdf)
9. [Horizon Forbidden West review – The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/reviews/horizon-forbidden-west-review/)
10. [PlayStation Studios list – GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/playstation-studios-sony/)
11. [Making Tools for Big Games – Guerrilla Games](https://www.guerrilla-games.com/read/making-tools-for-big-games)
12. [Titi Magazine, November 2019 issue](https://titimag.com/mag/titi%20magazine%20november%202019%20issue.pdf)
13. [The Hideo Kojima Death Stranding interview: Strands, Decima and Guerrilla Games – PlayStation.Blog](https://blog.playstation.com/archive/2017/02/23/the-hideo-kojima-death-stranding-interview-strands-decima-and-guerrilla-games)
14. [13-year-old Decima engine allows Death Stranding team to accomplish many things – PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/13-year-old-decima-engine-allows-death-stranding-team-to-accomplish-many-things-that-would-be-difficult-to-achieve-elsewhere/)
15. [PS5 State of Play February 2026 live updates – Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/news/live/ps5-state-of-play-february-2026-live-updates)
16. [The live-service elements of Horizon Hunters Gathering are reportedly being stripped out – TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/gaming/the-live-service-elements-of-horizon-hunters-gathering-are-reportedly-being-stripped-out-following-poor-feedback-as-new-details-emerge-about-several-canceled-playstation-titles)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Game industry › Developers and studios › First-party and publisher-owned studios*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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