The first horizon sold a ton because it was (and still is) one the most visually impressive games ever made. It was the PS4 game to get if you wanted to show off the power of your shiny new next-gen and/or OLED HDR TV. Next to the technical disaster that is bloodborne, Horizon looked at least one whole generation ahead.

But the story was mediocre. And the main character was kind of unlikeable. And the gameplay was typical Ubisoft-tier open world slop. So while a lot of people bought it, I don’t think a lot of people loved it.

Then the sequel released, and the sales were way down. Story was worse, Aloy was strangely uglier and bordering on insufferable, gameplay was stale and outdated. Graphics were still amazing, but the rest of the industry caught up.

TLDR: Horizon’s “success” as an IP was a bit of a mirage. Right place, right time, heavily promoted, but now subsequent releases are flopping. There will always be the Sony ponies who swallow an average console exclusive and pretend it’s steak, of course.

The real question is what would sales have looked like if Aloy were modeled even 30% more attractive with a different, more likable personality. Undoubtedly, the IP would be more popular and probably ascendant as opposed to declining.