The original Bioshock did not feature a multiplayer component, which was fine, because it offered such a dynamic and rich single player experience that no one really minded. Despite the lack of what many would consider an integral component of any FPS, the game went on to become a critical and commercial success.
Of course no one was expecting a multiplayer component in the sequel, which made the announcement that it would feature one a fairly big surprise. Furthermore, the developer made it known that it would not simply be tacking on a token multiplayer component, but that it would serve as a fully developed part of the game.
“The Bioshock team is betting big on multiplayer and plans to stay at the top of the charts,” said the developer last year. Of course gamers were sceptical as to whether Bioshock multiplayer would work.
The multiplayer gameplayer trailer which showed the newly announced feature in action got gamers’ attention, and very soon it became one of the most exciting elements of the upcoming game.
To say that 2K Games has burst a lot of PC gamers’ bubbles might be a bit strong, but it’s not too far off.
The first bombshell was that it will not be possible to play the game via a local area network (LAN). In case that wasn’t enough, the developer also announced that there would be no dedicated servers for the game. This means that the game will rely on player hosted matches, a scenario that is not ideal given the state of the local internet landscape.
“There is always a finite amount of time for the development of a game. Bringing Multiplayer to BioShock was a daunting task between the tech (there was no multiplayer support in the codebase from the first game) and the expectations of the community. Either you try to do everything and so nothing feels finished or you focus your efforts to do a smaller number of things really well like an accessible online experience. We chose to spend the time we had creating a solid game foundation and unfortunately that did not include LAN play or dedicated servers,” said 2K, which summarized can be taken to mean “we didn’t have time” or “we didn’t prioritize the PC multiplayer experience.”
The move comes as quite a shock, especially after the uproar caused by a similar announcement made for Modern Warfare 2 last year.
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