After Guerilla Games Abandons ‘Killzone’, Fans Are Looking To License And Revive The IP Themselves

Kevin Grajeda |

Oct 27, 2024

The Helghast rt in Killzone 3 (2011), Sony Interactive Entertainment

In the wake of Guerilla Studio’s announcement that they were “done with” the Killzone franchise, the fan organization Killzine has published an open letter to both the developer and their parent company, Sony PlayStation, in the hopes of licensing the IP and continuing the war against the Helghast Empire.

Tomas "Sev" Sevchenko (Andrew Bowen) surveys a snow swept battlefield in Killzone 3 (2011), Sony Interactive Entertainment — Tomas “Sev” Sevchenko (Andrew Bowen) surveys a snow swept battlefield in Killzone 3 (2011), Sony Interactive Entertainment

To start, many readers may be asking: Who – or what – the heck is ‘Killzine‘?

Pronounced ‘Kill-Zeen’, the Nottingham-based group is a Killzone-centric fan group perhaps best known for crowdfunding and producing the eponymous franchise ‘fanzine’, itself described by the group as “a self-published, non-commercial collection of fan works which are usually framed around a single topic or theme.”

An unofficial fan publication, the group Kickstarted a total of $1,697 to make the ‘zine from an original goal of $700, and are currently planning to release the book in both digital and physical form on November 2nd.

(It should be noted that this $1,600 purse isn’t a confidence-inspiring amount of funding potential for a team who is interested in full-on reviving a dead, AAA video game franchise.)

The cover to the first 'Killzine' (2024), as illustrated by Konira 'KT' Thax — The cover to the first ‘Killzine’ (2024), as illustrated by Konira ‘KT’ Thax

Sharing said open letter to the group’s official Twitter account on October 23rd, the Killzine’s organizers pleaded to Sony and Guerilla Games, “11 years is a hell of a long time to let a beloved series languish in purgatory, as a fandom begins to slowly lose hope of ever seeing a new game again.”

“Many of us were fortunate enough to enjoy Killzone during deeply formative years,” they continued, setting an honest and emotional stage for their letter. “Whether playing in blissful solitude, devouring every last bit of lore and savouring every mouth-watering set piece, or forming last friendships from afar thanks to the fantastic online experience, Killzone has given us core memories we will carry with us forever.”

Helghast Insurgent Looking Over The Player. Killzone Shadow Fall (2013), Sony Interactive Entertainment. — A Helghast Insurgent stands victorious over a downed player in Killzone Shadow Fall (2013), Sony Interactive Entertainment

“As news circulates of both PlayStation and Guerilla being effectively ‘done with’ the series, we want to seriously enquire about its future,” they wrote. “Don’t get us wrong, we understand the need for fresh ideas. Working on anything for 15 years would have anyone anything to take a break to explore something exciting and new. But, it’s been 11 years. Killzone has been out of the spotlight for almost as long as it was in it. We miss it. It’s the exact kind of FPS PlayStation needs in its lineup.”

“We’re not ignorant that despite its success throughout the PS3 generation, Killzone has never matched the critical (and likely financial) success enjoyed by the Horizon series,” the Killzine admitted. “With Aloy’s core titles, plus additional projects in the works in the Horizon series, we know the likelihood of another Killzone coming from Guerilla anytime soon is incredibly remote That said, we saw with Horizon: Call of the Mountain that Guerilla is comfortable having others work on their original IP.”

(And while maybe not a full ‘licensing of the IP to a third party studio’, it should be mentioned that the PS Vita spin-off Killzone Mercenary was developed by Guerrilla Cambridge (formerly Studio Cambridge).)

Vyktor Kratek speaks to the Helghast troops in Killzone: Mercenary (2013), Guerilla Cambridge

“So, with that in mind,” they continued, “we want to ask plainly: Are there any plans for further projects in the Killzone universe? Whether it be games or expanded universe outings (novels, animated shows, etc); is anything in the works? If there is, we can’t wait to hear about them and will happily wait until they’re ready. If not, we want to have an honest conversation about licensing the IP ourselves. All we need to know is who to talk to.”

“We promise, we won’t disappoint,” they concluded. “Six games and one novelisation cannot be how it ends”.

https://twitter.com/killzonezine/status/1849095989954531547

That all said, the Killzine’s letter begs another question: Are they actually ready, if given the opportunity, to undertake the task of utilizing the IP?

Looking at the lineup of professional contributors on the Killzine project, it is not likely that they’d be interested in or currently have the capability to produce a whole new Killzone video game. As the undertaking of producing a full AAA FPS may be too much to handle for the small team, fans may instead be in for something a little different, such as a comic book run or novel series.

The Helghast Empire prepares to launch their war against the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance in Killzone (2004), Guerilla Games

Only time will tell what the fate of the franchise will be. Fans surely want to see more Killzone regardless of which medium it is presented in – the successful Killzine project is testament to that.

Either way, the superfans have put the ball in Sony and Guerrilla Game’s court.

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