Ahead of its expected release next spring, Sony has started to slowly peel back the curtain on its plans for PlayStation VR 2. Although its price and exact launch date are still up in the air right now, a clearer picture has emerged when it comes to the types of software that players can expect to find on it. One title that has arguably stood out ahead of the rest, though, is Guerrilla Games and Firesprite’s Horizon Call of the Mountain.

Announced alongside PSVR 2 last year, it’s fair to say that Horizon Call of the Mountain is shaping up to be an intriguing proposition. Similarly to the virtual headset that it will be tied to, little has been shared definitively about its launch plans. However, it’s already possible to imagine the fate of Sony’s second-generation virtual reality headset being tied directly to how well the game is received commercially and critically. For several reasons, every party involved will be hoping it's a killer app that can drive hardware sales up.

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PSVR 2’s Price

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In most circumstances, when it comes to brand-new pieces of gaming hardware, having killer apps and software involved is massively important. Getting people to adopt expensive new technology isn’t an easy task, to say the least. Making sure games that showcase the console's value are available to buy can often subsequently make or break their commercial success. It’s for this reason that Sony itself launched the PS5 in 2020 alongside exclusive games like the Demon’s Souls remake.

Even though Sony has been coy when it comes to how much PSVR 2 and its Sense controllers will set players back, it’s easy to imagine the package being particularly expensive. Players only have to look at the original PlayStation VR and its $399 launch price for an example of how high even simpler headsets can retail for. Recent previews for the second-generation virtual reality headset have helped to underline this further, as impressions suggest the publisher hasn’t held back from a tech perspective when it comes to its upcoming efforts.

Thanks to several current global economic and distribution situations, it has to be said that Sony is probably going to have an uphill battle selling PSVR 2 next year on a significant scale. Horizon Call of the Mountain could go a decent way to maximizing its reach and sales figures, though. Provided that the game offers a quality experience and can reach killer app status, it will be hard for some players to ignore its appeal. Subsequently, it will also be hard for those same fans to pass up the virtual reality headset that it’s currently tied exclusively to.

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PSVR’s Legacy

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One of the benefits of a hardware sequel is the fact that the creator behind it can iterate and refine its original design philosophies. Despite creating a solid virtual reality headset back in 2016, this rings true for Sony and the upcoming PSVR 2 as well. Based on the headset’s DualSense inspired controllers and eye-tracking technology, it appears as though the platform holder has taken steps to ensure it’s a significant step up from the previous version. When it comes to a software and content perspective, there are arguably even bigger lessons for Sony to learn from on that front too.

There’s no denying that during the original PlayStation VR headset’s life, great and creative games landed on it. Between the likes of Moss, Beat Saber, and Marvel’s Iron Man VR, there were several experiences for players to savor during its lifecycle. A case can be made, however, that there weren’t too many must-play games. If someone was uninterested in the concept of virtual reality, for example, it’s hard to imagine the often short titles that dominated the platform necessarily changing that.

The 5 million PlayStation VRs that were sold by 2020 partly underline that, especially considering how 117.2 million PS4s are estimated to have also been shipped across the globe. Horizon Call of the Mountain is significant, though, as it looks like Sony has pursued the project specifically as a way to address this issue. Based on what has been shared about it so far, it’s shaping up to be a substantial feature-length game that’s heavily inspired by the franchise's past installments. As far as content goes, it should be harder for players to overlook the headset because of its existence.

Along similar lines, Horizon Call of the Mountain is something of an outlier when it comes to Sony’s first-party studios as well. Even though the publisher was able to add the likes of Astro Bot Rescue Mission to its list of internally developed hits, in general, most of its internal teams simply ignored the platform. Franchises like Uncharted and God of War, for example, were nowhere to be seen. If Call of the Mountain proves to be the successful killer app it’s being built to be, more big-name games like it could theoretically follow along to bolster PSVR 2’s library.

Sony and Horizon’s Future

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Horizon Call of the Mountain’s potential killer app status is important on several other levels too. Beyond giving PSVR 2 the best possible chance to be commercially successful, the game is also a test for Sony’s recent business decisions. For starters, the fact that the game is a collaborative endeavor between Guerrilla Games and Firesprite means it’s something of a break from PlayStation Studios’ traditional creative process. Although Sony’s developers assist each other frequently, a case can be made for the project's joint scale being unprecedented.

It’s worth keeping in mind that Horizon Call of the Mountain will be Firesprite’s debut release since it joined Sony’s first-party family as well. Of all the recent additions that the publisher has made, the game is the first and currently only officially announced project from one of those studios. How it fares on PSVR 2 could therefore influence the direction that Sony explores similar plans going forward. Being a killer app could simply encourage Sony to greenlight more collaborations and acquisitions.

While the benefits the game offers to PSVR 2 are potentially big, the dynamic between it and Horizon Call of the Mountain goes the other way as well. Thanks to the success that Guerrilla Games has had with Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, the series is shaping up to be one of Sony’s tent-pole IPs. The franchise’s recently announced Netflix series orchestrates this perfectly. So long as the game proves to be a killer app in virtual reality, it’s easy to imagine this upward trajectory being maintained going forward.

Horizon Call of the Mountain is in development for PSVR 2.

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