No Multiplayer will present a Challenge for Wolfenstein
Will a lack of multiplayer present a great challenge to the development of Wolfenstein: The New Order?
An Insight for Bay Area Gamers
Will a lack of multiplayer present a great challenge to the development of Wolfenstein: The New Order?
Not too long ago; Bethesda Softworks announced that Wolfenstein: The New Order was in the works for a late 2013 release on current and next generation consoles.
Following the announcement; Chris Watters of Gamespot.com had an interview with the development team. More details were unveiled but it was also learned that Wolfenstein: The New Order will not have a multiplayer component.
It has been confirmed that Bethesada Softworks and MachineGames are planning on developing Wolfenstein: The New Order as a single-player only game. Could this radical choice raise the bar for what gamers will want to expect?
This decision comes as a shock given that Return to Castle Wolfenstein was highly praised for both a single-player campaign that continued the legacy of the classic game and a revolutionary multiplayer component that became the template for today’s games.
In the last several years; few games have been released without a multiplayer component. Fallout: New Vegas, BioShock: Infinite, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim are just a few examples of successful games without multiplayer. These games had a strong and well crafted single player gameplay that it overshadowed the lack of multiplayer.
This means that if Wolfenstein: The New Order is to be a success among critics and gamers then it can not be a simple FPS-game. Gamers will be expecting a game with RPG-style gameplay with a long campaign in a well crafted environment. These games also require a lot of time to develop; so either the game is half finished or gamers could anticipate a delay at some point.
Bethesada Softworks would have to be foolish to try and appeal to the casual gaming market with a Call of Duty-style game. These types of games are popular mostly because of the attention given to the multiplayer aspect.
Yet a simple FPS-game may not even be the worst decisions if they chose to release Wolfenstein: The New Order as a budget title available only through download. An iconic series like Wolfenstein should not ever be degraded in such a manner and to do so could kill the series for a generation of gamers.
In the last several years; many classic games have attempted to reach a new generation only to fail miserably. Hopefully Bethesada Softworks and MachineGames choice of not having a multiplayer dose not lead to the end of the Wolfenstein-series.
How do you feel about Wolfenstein: The New Order not having multiplayer? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
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