Since the funding for Shadowrun Returns has completed and the game will indeed be made, slated for release on Android tablets, one big feature that a lot of people were hoping for is multiplayer. While it was said that multiplayer wouldn’t be coming, at least not right away, we now have more confirmation that it will most likely arrive but it will be after the game’s launch.
Speaking to Shacknews, Shadowrun creator Jordan Weisman mentioned that he does want multiplayer for Shadowrun Returns. As it stands right now though, between the time line they have set and their budget, it just wouldn’t be feasible to try and squeeze multiplayer into the game in time for launch. As to how the multiplayer would work, whether e-mail or hot seat co-op, Jordan said this:
We do want to do all that. We got very excited and I mentioned it in a video and then we sat down and realized in the time frame and realistic budget–even that we were starting to see the fans might extend us to–it would stretch us too thin to commit to that for launch.
The interesting thing is, the engine that they are building which will run Shadowrun Returns is being built with the idea for multiplayer, theoretically meaning it could support it at launch but it would be buggy because not enough time would be dedicated to it, at least that is what it sounds like. However, since the engine is being built with multiplayer in mind, it should be easier to get that feature implemented in a future update.
We think the kinds of things we’d love to add–a PvP mode for deathmatch arena play, or co-operative RPG play–we definitely are going to build the engine to allow us to expand in that direction, but we didn’t want to commit to having that at launch.
No exact release date has been announced for Shadowrun Returns and we probably have a fair bit of time to wait before it arrives for Android tablets. Still, the game is sounding more promising each day.
Website Referenced: Shacknews
