As one of the most critically-acclaimed and best-selling games of 2017, Horizon: Zero Dawn has shown that there is still great interest in strictly single player experiences. However, at one point in time, the game was actually planned to include co-op gameplay.

This is according to Horizon: Zero Dawn game director Mathijs de Jonge, who spoke about the game's development with YouTube channel Noclip. As explained by de Jonge, co-op was a part of the earliest Horizon: Zero Dawn prototype, but if the team wanted to include the feature in the game, they would have to cut about half of the other features that they wanted.

Check out the full interview with Horizon: Zero Dawn game director Matijs de Jonge right here:

What's interesting about de Jonge's comments is that he says that since Horizon: Zero Dawn is the "first game" in a planned series, the team didn't want to cut other features in favor of co-op. This could be an indication that co-op may be in the works for the sequel, now that the team has laid the foundation for all the other features that defined the original title.

Then again, much of Horizon: Zero Dawn's popularity seems to stem from the fact that it is a strictly single player experience in a day and age where almost everything has multiplayer or co-op functionality. Single player was once the standard, but in 2017, Horizon: Zero Dawn's single player-only gameplay actually felt like a fresh of breath air for many gamers. Considering this, de Jonge and his team at Guerrilla Games may keep co-op out of the equation, at least for the time being.

Regardless of whether or not the sequel has co-op, fans can rest assured that a sequel to Horizon: Zero Dawn is in the works. The first game's critical and commercial success practically guarantees that, and now that The Frozen Wilds expansion is out, the team can focus all of its efforts on developing the sequel.

Horizon: Zero Dawn is available now, exclusively for PlayStation 4.