- Primary Subject: Retrospective on Single-Player Game Multiplayer Modes
- Key Update: The article examines why "tacked-on" multiplayer modes in iconic titles like Dead Space 2, BioShock 2, and The Last of Us ultimately struggled or were cancelled despite their potential.
- Status: Confirmed (Editorial Analysis)
- Last Verified: May 21, 2026
- Quick Answer: These modes failed due to repetitive loops and lack of long-term support; today's developers have largely abandoned this model for single-player narrative focus or roguelike experimentation.
The 2010s were a damn weird decade for gaming. The console wars were in full swing, gamers everywhere were holding their breath for the next generation of consoles, and developers were trying frantically to stuff multiplayer into their supposedly single-player-only video games. This comes after the multi-million-dollar success of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare franchise, which, jaw-dropping story aside, owes its success to its highly replayable multiplayer mode. But then again, we are talking about one of the greatest games of the decade. Capturing the success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s multiplayer is like catching lightning in a bottle, but that never stopped other developers from trying.
So here’s a list of a few noteworthy single-to-multiplayer attempts that had legs, but still fell flat on their face.
Dead Space 2
Dead Space 2 was coming off a very successful first entry, which some would even say is timeless. Now, I personally played Dead Space 2 first because the kid in me was too afraid of Dead Space, but from what I heard, the gameplay and action elements were really kicked up to 11 for the sequel. Dead Space 2 is this franchise’s Resident Evil 3, where horror was toned down in favor of a bit more action horror. Because of this new and polished gameplay, EA saw it as a no-brainer to add multiplayer modes to this already fantastic game. To their credit, it was a pretty damn good multiplayer mode.
Dead Space 2’s multiplayer mode was basically Left 4 Dead’s Versus mode. In it, you’d have one side as the good guys and another side as the necromorphs. Being able to play as the necromorophs at the time was such a novel idea that it was enough for me to sink in a few hours in the game, only to find out that there wasn’t much depth to it in the first place. But that’s not to say it was a bad thing; it served its purpose for sure. The fact that it tied into the story really added some depth to the single-player mode as well. Sadly, the game died out because its gameplay loop quickly grew old, but a part of me hopes that they’d try again.
Bioshock 2
Another case of a solo horror journey turning into a team deatmatch-esque multiplayer bonanza. In my head, Bioshock was the last game franchise that even needed a multiplayer mode, but boy, am I glad they added it. What’s even better is that they tied the multiplayer mode into the actual lore of the game, so the multiplayer and the single-player modes added a lot of personality. In terms of gameplay, though? That ultimately left a lot to be desired. Don’t get me wrong, the game was fun, and the use of plasmids strategically made the game’s lifespan longer than it did, but the mechanics of the multiplayer mode weren’t very intuitive.
Bioshock 2’s multiplayer died for the same reason Dead Space 2’s multiplayer died: Repetitiveness. Your gameplay loop could be so fun, but eventually, everyone gets tired of the loop, and you have to “reinvent the wheel” to some extent. Other modern multiplayer games understood this and began started adding seasonal patches that introduced new weapons, tactics, and balance changes to shake up the meta. Bioshock 2’s multiplayer mode failed to do this, leaving the game to die slowly until Gamespy (blast from the past) eventually shut the servers down for good. Sadly, with the release of the Bioshock Collection ultimately trimmed the fat that was Bioshock 2’s multiplayer. Seems my hopes of a Bioshock 2 2026 multiplayer experience are sleeping with the fishes until further notice.
The Last of Us
A more widely popular single-player turned multiplayer game is The Last of Us’ Factions mode. Surprisingly, this multiplayer mode was a smash hit amongst players and was only axed by the developers themselves. If this is coming as a surprise to you, don’t worry, you aren’t missing out; the older version of the game does still have servers running. To give you a bit of a premise, the Factions multiplayer mode takes the usual hectic gameplay of The Last of Us and turns it into a team deathmatch. It isn’t really the most intuitive way of integrating multiplayer, but The Last of Us’ gameplay mechanics are satisfying enough to maintain the fun.
Unfortunately, plans for more Factions content—including the upcoming solo release of Factions 2—were cut by the developers, despite the game already being about 85% complete. We can only dream of what the game was like, but, as one of the game’s directors said, it was supposedly one of the most fun multiplayer experiences he has ever had. Whether that’s coming from personal bias or not is up in the air, but I would’ve loved to see for myself.
After these failed multiplayer modes dropped like flies, developers also soon dropped the notion that every game needed multiplayer. Instead, they’re now opting to pander to a different trend: rogue-likes! Only time will tell if that ends in ruin, but I’m more than happy to see them experiment.
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