Speaking to Game Informer, Avalanche Studios developers for Just Cause 3 confirmed that the game will not incorporate any type of multiplayer mode into the game at launch. Instead, Avalanche Studios is focusing on the single-player campaign. Historically, Just Cause has never really been a multiplayer franchise. However, two players developed a multiplayer mod for the Windows PC version of Just Cause 2. In fact, the two fans managed to get approval from Avalanche Studios for an official DLC pack last year on Steam. While the idea of multiplayer for Just Cause could be fun, Avalanche is not comfortable taking on the new mode, and I applaud its decision. The last thing Just Cause 3 needs is a faulty, new game mode that is broken or does not fully work properly.
In the previously mentioned interview, the Avalanche CCO and Co-Founder, Christofer Sundberg, did not completely rule out the idea of a multiplayer experience for the game. However, such an experience will not be available with the game at launch. I am fine with that. Just Cause 3 is not a franchise that relies on a multiplayer experience. I view Just Cause 3 as a completely open-world sandbox action-adventure title. The player as Rico Rodriguez is going around dispensing justice and causing mayhem for militant bad guys The game is a high-octane action playground.
The second game offered a ton of replay value through all its open-world content. There was tons to see and do throughout Just Cause 2. The fun in the game emerged from all the crazy things and actions players could perform. The craziness in stunts for Just Cause 2 appeared to only be limited to the human imagination. A multiplayer experience would likely take away from that.
Nonetheless, I am happy to see that Avalanche is completely focused on the sandbox experience. That means the company will not attempt to shoehorn needless or faulty co-op modes into the game. It is great when game franchises grow and do new things. However, sometimes new elements for franchises lead to disappointing results. Case in point: the rather dull mutliplayer campaign for Batman: Arkham Origins. It was the first time the franchise tried a multiplayer mode, which was outsourced to another developer in Splash Damage. Multiplayer has never really been a focus for Avalanche Studios with the Just Cause franchise. So, if Avalanche is not ready to go in that direction, there should not be a move to force out a mediocre multiplayer campaign.
Of course, this does rule out the possibility that players will attempt a multiplayer mod for the PC version at some point. Avalanche does not seem to be against the idea. The same interview linked above also speculated the possibility that members of Shinra Technologies could be working on some type of multiplayer capabilities. Somehow, I suspect that is not the case.
Just Cause 3 is scheduled for release on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC in 2015.
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