Wolfenstein 2 isn't getting multiplayer because it would 'dilute' the storytelling, says Machine Games

With us living in the age of ‘games as service’, there’s been a bit of hand-wringing about the death of single-player games. Of course, there are still plenty of single-player games in development, and in the case of Machine Games’ Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, the studio say they've made a concerted effort to not let anything detract from that solo experience.

"The only way we can create these super immersive narrative experiences is if we can solely focus on the single-player," narrative designer Tommy Tordsson Björk told Gamesindustry.biz. "Having a multiplayer component in this work process would just dilute it all. That's the danger if you try to do two things at once.”

This won’t come as a surprise if you’ve played the previous Wolfenstein shooters from Machine Games. Neither of them have had multiplayer. And in a narrative-driven, single-player experience, another mode seems superfluous.

If you cast your mind back five years, you might remember that Spec Ops: The Line included a multiplayer mode, despite the fact that, like Wolfenstein, it had an otherwise strong single-player focus. After launch, the lead designer expressed his regret that it was tacked on, describing it as a “cancerous growth”.

Alec took Wolfy 2 for a spin last month, and it looks like he had a lovely time killing Nazis. Take a gander at his impressions. It's due for release on October 27.