You'll need to prepare a hefty pinch of salt for this one, but a current rumour doing the rounds suggests that Guerrilla Games is planning to revive the SOCOM US Navy SEALs franchise for PlayStation 5.
SOCOM, if you're unfamiliar, was a much-loved series of third-person tactical shooters that appeared on the PS2, PS3 and PSP between 2002 and 2011. The games followed the exploits of various teams of United States Navy SEALs as they carried out missions around the world.
Guerrilla Games, of course, are the studio behind 2017's excellent Horizon Zero Dawn. Cast your mind a little further back though, and you'll remember that they're also responsible for the first-person shooter franchise Killzone. I'm personally not all that convinced Guerrilla could be working on a SOCOM revival, but a new video from YouTuber BigfryTV makes a few compelling points... so read on and judge for yourself, I guess.
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As you'll be see if you watch the 14-minute video above (or here), BigfryTV uses a number of sources to back up his claims, but I'm just gonna point you to the biggest and most believable ones. Firstly, there's the LinkedIn profile from Simon Larouche. He's a Game Director at Guerrilla Games, currently working on an "unannounced game".
I know what you're thinking. An unannounced game could be absolutely anything, and is most likely just Horizon Zero Dawn 2. There's been plenty to suggest a sequel to the 2017 game is currently in development, and it's crucial to note that nothing has been officially announced yet.
That in itself isn't too interesting then. More intriguing is the LinkedIn profile of Chris Lee. He's a Principal Game Designer at Guerrilla whose current interests include "multiplayer (cooperative and competitive), open-world systemic gameplay, and online social experience".
Whether this means Lee is actively working on a game that features cooperative and competitive multiplayer, or if that's simply what floats his boat right now is unclear. I'd guess the former, though. Unless Horizon Zero Dawn 2 features some kind of multiplayer component (which isn't impossible), there's a chance he could be working on something else.
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Interestingly, a quick scroll through Lee's employment history reveals that he'd previously worked on a number of tactical shooters, including Rainbow Six Siege and a handful of previous SOCOM games. Lee's profile also suggests that Guerilla is working on multiple projects, so there could well be other things going on besides Horizon Zero Dawn 2.
I should point out once again that there's really not that much to suggest that this mystery project could be a new SOCOM. Other than Lee and Larouche's previous experience, and the fact that SOCOM was a PlayStation franchise, there's not a huge amount to go on. Frankly, I reckon its far more likely that the studio is working on a Killzone revival.
Featured Image Credit: SonyTopics: Guerrilla Games, Horizon Zero Dawn, PS4