At launch, Cyberpunk 2077 will not have a multiplayer mode. The gameplay demo also indicates that we shouldn’t expect a regular multiplayer mode in the style of open-world PvP and co-op missions in the RPG, should the team decide to introduce one at some point. But what could multiplayer look like?
CD Projekt Red stated that at least at the launch of the first-person RPG Cyberpunk 2077, no multiplayer is planned. The team also does not want to promise whether there will even be a multiplayer component. As the E3 gameplay demo shows, implementing a regular multiplayer mode would also be quite difficult.
No regular multiplayer due to bullet time?
What was visible in the demo? Hero V used a kind of bullet-time skill in battles, which slowed down the action. This is somewhat reminiscent of Max Payne or the VATS mode from Fallout 3 or 4.
Slow motion makes multiplayer impossible: A slow-motion mode is actually impossible or at least extremely difficult to implement in a multiplayer mode, which is why Bethesda removed it from the VATS mode for Fallout 76. The time slows down for all participants. If several players constantly activate their “bullet time” one after the other, this could lead to sluggish gameplay. There are certainly ways to solve this, albeit rather inelegantly:
- Bullet time could only be triggered within a certain radius around the player using it, and all players in that area would also be slowed down. However, this brings the disadvantage that players outside this area would gain an advantage due to their speed.
- All players could be slowed down, which basically renders the skill absurd and would lead to constant slow motion.
If there is multiplayer, it will likely be “different”
So no multiplayer in Cyberpunk 2077? According to CD Projekt Red, it was stated at E3 that we will not see a multiplayer mode at least at the launch of Cyberpunk 2077. The team wants to focus fully on the single-player aspect. Whether there will be multiplayer features later, the developers cannot promise. However, internal experiments are being conducted. If slow-motion skills from the gameplay demo play such an important role, we should probably not expect a regular co-op or open-world PvP for a potential multiplayer mode.
However, there are other options:
- Multiplayer could take place “separately” from the regular game. Perhaps in a PvP arena where modifications like bullet time are prohibited.
- Multiplayer could be a social hub where players simply meet in bars, hang out, dance, drink, and share stories.
- Multiplayer could take the form of mini-games. Perhaps players play a round of cyber soccer against other players, without being able to use skills.
The displayed “bullet time” certainly suggests that at least co-op and regular PvP activities will not be possible, unless CD Projekt Red has found a way to meaningfully and frustration-free integrate slow-motion effects into a multiplayer experience. The developers’ statement that they cannot promise to add a multiplayer mode to the game makes the whole situation surrounding a future multiplayer part for Cyberpunk 2077 quite exciting.
