Horizon Zero Dawn was a big hit for Sony. It reviewed well when it launched and sold 2.6 million units in its first two weeks. It continued to do well for developer Guerrilla Games too, as they announced that it had sold 7.6 million copies after its first anniversary earlier this year. That success afforded Guerrilla Games the opportunity to move into a bigger office next year along with the ability to increase their staff from 250 permanent employees to 400.
Het Parool, a daily newspaper based in Amsterdam, reported the studio’s relocation earlier today. The studio is staying in Amsterdam but migrating to a new building and leasing five floors at the beginning of next year. Guerrilla Games CEO Herman Hulst explained that they have been trying to move for a few years now.
“I’ve been looking for room for growth for three or four years,” he told Het Parool, “but that is hardly possible in Amsterdam, which will be the base for Guerrilla. We are going to put everything to our will. For ten years we do not have to worry about our accommodation anymore, the idea is that we will never go out here again. ”
Hulst expressed that their ambitions to grow and will to stay in Amsterdam were at odds. But eventually they found the place that could both suit their new expansion while keeping their Amsterdam identity in tact.
The five floors will have the necessary space to house the 150 or so permanent staff members they hope to recruit. They did not give a time frame for when they plan to hit 400 but they did express why they were staffing up: to be able to develop games more quickly. While they made Killzone Shadow Fall for the PS4’s launch in 2013, it took the developer six and a half years to create Horizon Zero Dawn. Hulst expressed the desire to speed up that cycle.
“We have worked at Horizon for six and half years, which is exceptional.” he stated. “We want to release games in the two or three years, both new titles and games based on existing titles.”
