Horizon Forbidden West Was Delayed To Avoid Crunch Skip to content Click here to check out the GameByte Shop great games, consoles and more! This is great to hear. Horizon Forbidden West Was Delayed To Avoid Crunch 21 February 2022 by Richard Breslin Guerrilla Games has revealed that Horizon Forbidden West was delayed in part to avoid its employees working crunch hours. Director at Guerrilla Games, Mathijs de Jonge was speaking to Dutch outlet NU.nl (translated by GamesRadar). During the interview, de Jonge revealed the studio avoided the crunch hour culture for the Horizon Zero Dawn sequel. “Forbidden West might have been released at the end of last year, but then we might have had to work overtime. That also played a part in the decision to release the game now,” said de Jonge.ADVERT ADVERT He continued: “We are very aware of the disadvantages of crunching, so we take that into account a lot in our planning. To give an example, at Christmas we said that there would be no work and that everyone could just have a two-week vacation. The company was closed, you couldn’t even go there to work.” Crunch hours are never good Working “crunch hours” has been an issue within the video game industry for many years. The pressure of deadlines and trying to please executives has resulted in employees being forced to work unreasonable hours. Furthermore, it’s said this pressure contributes towards some games releasing in poor states at launch. Hopefully, big development studios such as Guerrilla Games trying its best not to impose crunch hours on employees might signal a change of culture within the industry.ADVERT ADVERT Credit: Sony/Guerrilla Games In our review of Horizon Forbidden West, we said it’s: “a triumph for Guerrilla Games. It takes the shining promise of Zero Dawn and elevates it in almost every way possible. This truly feels like the RPG the studio has always wanted to make, and I’m so glad that it finally gets to breathe without being overshadowed.” Have you been enjoying your time with Horizon Forbidden West? Let us know across our social media channels. If you’ve not played Aloy’s latest adventure yet, you can pick up the Horizon Zero Dawn sequel from just £55.95 from the GameByte Shop!ADVERT ADVERT Shop with GameByte Do not forget you can find great games and more on the GameByte Shop! Our store is stocked up with the latest games, merch, and accessories. We might even have a new-gen console or two! Sign up to our newsletter to be notified of our console drops, deals and more. Please note that the GameByte Shop is available for UK customers Credit only. Featured Image Credit: Guerrilla Games TweetShareSharePin Follow us on @GameByte @gamebyte GameByte GameByte GameByte Noobs Play @GameByte @gamebyte GameByte GameByte GameByte Noobs Play External Links Policy GameByte Staff About GameByte Advertise with us Careers Ambassador Program Contact Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Manage Cookies Preferences Submit Your Content FragHero Sporf 9 to 5 Life Social Chain Social Chain Agency