Avalanche Studios says that their third romp in the Just Cause franchise won’t be a social one, or at least for now. The Swedish developer confirmed that when Just Cause 3 releases on PC and new-gen consoles, it’ll be sans multiplayer of any kind. So if your friends to join in the fun, it’ll only be because they’re watching you sink a submarine.
The news falls in line with 2010’s Just Cause 2, which also didn’t ship with multiplayer support despite a group of fans’ best efforts to mod one into the game with the blessing of Avalanche and publisher Square Enix.
In an interview with Game Informer, Avalanche co-founder Christofer Sundberg expressed his love for Just Cause 2′s multiplayer mod, but explained that official multiplayer support for its sequel would’ve strained the developer’s focus on forging a quality sandbox to exploit.
The mod is absolutely fantastic. We owe those guys a lot. They have actually supported the game and helped it stay alive so many years after it was released. We don’t expect the fans to make the multiplayer for Just Cause 3, but at some point you have to make a choice on where your focus is. Our strength is the sandbox experience, and we want to deliver a great Just Cause 3 experience.
Though Just Cause 3 may not ship with official multiplayer support, Sundberg hinted that a multiplayer mode could be added to the game after its release, akin to how Grand Theft Auto V Online was launched in October 2013, following the game’s release a month prior.
“Maybe sometime down the line we’ll take Rico into the modern world of multiplaying,” Sundberg said.
A multiplayer could very well be introduced to Just Cause 3 through Square Enix’s new cloud gaming initiative, Shinra Technologies. Interestingly, Game Informer reports that some of developers working on that project are set up inside Avalanche’s office in New York City, suggesting that the companies might be working together on something new for Just Cause 3.
Shinra Technologies vice president of business Jacob Novak said one possibility that cloud gaming allows is to “enhance” games after their initial release. One example he provided was to introduce a multiplayer mode to a game that doesn’t have it out of the box…just like Just Cause 3.
When asked directly if Shinra Technologies was working with Avalanche on a multiplayer mode, Novak replied:
We’re working on a possible future collaboration with Avalanche Studios.
He added, “I think it does make a lot of sense.”
With or without multiplayer, Just Cause 3 rolls up its sleeves for Xbox One, Playstation 4, and Windows PC next year with all the humor of the original and then some.
Via GameInformer