In the past half-decade, studios that were known for outstanding single-player experiences have pivoted hard toward making multiplayer games designed to be played forever. It has almost never worked out.
In 2018,BethesdareleasedFallout 76, andthe launch was so disastrousthat it’s taken years for the studio to rebuild the goodwill it enjoyed fromThe Elder ScrollsandFalloutfranchises. Fallout 76 has since undergone a redemption arc and has a dedicated fanbase, but it only got there because Bethesda hasgradually undone the decisions that made it differentfrom the single-player Fallout games in the first place.
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BioWare, beloved for theMass EffectandDragon Ageseries of single-player RPGs, tried their hand at aDestiny-like in 2019 withAnthem. The game wasn’t well-received at launch, failed, and was quickly abandoned as BioWare moved back to focusing on its two cornerstone single-player series again.
In 2020,Crystal DynamicslaunchedMarvel’s Avengers, a similarly decisive turn away from the single-playerTomb Raidergames that earned the studio a sizable fanbase in the 2010s. That gamehas already received its final update.
Rocksteady, which made the excellentBatman: Arkham games, has spent the past eight years working onSuicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, which would seem to be in its wheelhouse after a trilogy starring the Caped Crusader. But fans reacted so negatively to its gameplay reveal that Suicide Squad wasdelayed into 2024. Bizarrely, that’s not even the only DC licensed game developed by an ex-Batman: Arkham studio to get this kind of reception. Last year, WB Games Montréal’s Batman: Arkham Origins follow-up,Gotham Knights, launched to terrible reviews and, if thesteep discountit received shortly after launch is any indication, low sales too.
Into this morass,Arkanehas releasedRedfall. The looter-shooter isn’t a game as a service per se, but it is a cooperative experience with tiered loot designed to be played with friends coming from a studio that, until now, has largely been known for best-in-class single-player immersive sims. The game has gotten theworst reviews in Arkane’s history, with many critics noting that it feels unfinished and that its inclusion of four-player co-op undercuts Arkane’s renowned level design.
As Eric Switzer noted inhis piece comparing Redfall to Anthem, this is another instance of a studio abandoning the things that made it special to chase a trend. Whether Bethesda pushed Arkane to make Redfall or Arkane made the choice to make something more straightforwardly commercial, the result is the same one we’ve seen over and over in the past few years – a studio has marred its reputation and muddied its identity for a shot at mainstream success, only to produce its greatest failure in the process.
That’s the thing about these pivots: they almost never work. Everyone is chasing the model thatBungieestablished with Destiny, but very few studios have the pedigree that Bungie had when it began developing its game as a service. Arkane isn’t a lesser developer, but it was far less prepared to make this kind of game. Bungie’sHalogames already included single-player, campaign co-op, and competitive multiplayer. Destiny was a new kind of game for the studio, but it was made up of parts Bungie had built games from before.
When single-player studios attempt to pivot to live-service games, they’re taking a massive risk that has, so far, only paid off in a few cases. The money behind-the-scenes may be pushing for it, but at this point, you have to wonder why. These games cost a ton to make, rarely make their money back, and then, embarrassingly, get scuttled a year or two down the line. Is it really worth it?
Increasingly, it seems like the answer is no. WB Games Montréal is already working ona new DC game that ditches the cooperative element. BioWare and Bethesda both have two single-player RPGs in the works each. We don’t know what’s next for Rocksteady, but by the time Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League comes out, the studio will have gone nine years without a release. I only hope it doesn’t take Arkane that long to correct its course.
