Are Multiplayer Modes Vanishing As Developers Look To Cut Costs

It is not secret that it is a time of great upheaval in the gaming industry. Numerous layoffs and closures have affected the careers of many in the industry and lead to delays and cancellations.

As companies strive to cut their production costs, scaling back seems to be the trend as ambitious and costly titles have more risk than ever before as consumers have to face rising game and hardware prices.

The eagerly anticipated DOOM: The Dark Ages will reportedly ship without a multiplayer mode and place the focus on the campaign.

While this is not a total shock, I fondly remember playing DOOM and DOOM 2 over a Dial-Up Modem so there are some nostalgic feelings about Co-Op and Online DOOM for me.

While not every game needs Multiplayer, FPS games have often been a staple as Call of Duty is an example of a vibrant multiplay community and when it is not part of a sequel such as in RAGE 2, it does raise questions.

The biggest question I have is whether Multiplayer modes are becoming a victim of cost-cutting.

Developers like to say the focus is on the campaign yet note the savings of time and money by not having a dedicated team working on multiplay.

Star Wars: Zero Company looks interesting but will reportedly not have multiplayer included. Even X-Com which is the standard for turn-based games eventually moved to include multiplayer so it is not a genre limitation.

The recent Dragon Age: The Veilguard did not offer multiplay and failed to capture gamers attention and money.

In my opinion, asking gamers to pay $80.00 for 12-20 hours of gameplay with no multiplayer is a risky proposition as many will likely opt to wait for the price to come down and this will result in further instability in the industry.

Not every game needs multiplay as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Assassin’s Creed: Shadows deliver very satisfying and long gaming experiences as single-player games.

However for many gamers the inclusion of multiplay helps extend the life of a game and makes it easier for gamers to invest in.

Hopefully multiplay will continue to be a part of games on a common bases and will not see a sharp decline due to cutting costs.