FASA confirms: Shadowrun doesn’t split-screen

Shadowrun (Xbox 360, PC) is starting to rack up a rep of being an unconventional game. First, an FPS from a traditionally RPG genre. Second, cross-platform gaming. Third, now only multiplayer. And now, despite it being a shooter, no split screen multiplayer, even as shooters like Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 feature the ability to throw a party more intimate than LAN – or Live.

In the Official Shadowrun Community forums, FASA Studio’s lead program manager Kimona confirmed reports that split-screen isn’t going to make it to the Shadowrun final build. And not for lack of trying: he says the team’s been wanting to implement split-screen, but simply had too much work remaining. FASA decided on the bird in the hand: to work on what they already had and try to make it really good instead.

How does this affect the appeal of the game? Despite its being touted as a multiplayer like no other (particularly because of cross-platform gameplay), losing the single-player could dilute some interest in the game – especially on an IP that’s traditionally associated with RPGs. Bot to lose split-screen will make the game one of those that are Xbox Live-required, like Chromehounds (while it had single-player, it was all training. All the lead was on Xbox Live).

It’s not a bad thing, but it means that the game’s ultimately going to be only as good as Xbox Live (or Live Anywhere) makes it. It doesn’t have a single-player component or split-screen multiplayer component to fall back on.

Shadowrun (Xbox 360, PC) is starting to rack up a rep of being an unconventional game. First, an FPS from a traditionally RPG genre. Second, cross-platform gaming. Third, now only multiplayer. And now, despite it being a shooter, no split screen multiplayer, even as shooters like Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 feature the ability to throw a party more intimate than LAN – or Live.

In the Official Shadowrun Community forums, FASA Studio’s lead program manager Kimona confirmed reports that split-screen isn’t going to make it to the Shadowrun final build. And not for lack of trying: he says the team’s been wanting to implement split-screen, but simply had too much work remaining. FASA decided on the bird in the hand: to work on what they already had and try to make it really good instead.

How does this affect the appeal of the game? Despite its being touted as a multiplayer like no other (particularly because of cross-platform gameplay), losing the single-player could dilute some interest in the game – especially on an IP that’s traditionally associated with RPGs. Bot to lose split-screen will make the game one of those that are Xbox Live-required, like Chromehounds (while it had single-player, it was all training. All the lead was on Xbox Live).

It’s not a bad thing, but it means that the game’s ultimately going to be only as good as Xbox Live (or Live Anywhere) makes it. It doesn’t have a single-player component or split-screen multiplayer component to fall back on.