14 DAY TRIAL // Jade Raymond, the leader of the Ubisoft studio in Toronto, says that the nature of multiplayer experiences will change after the launch of the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 and the mode will increase in popularity.
The processing power of the new devices from both Sony and Microsoft will allow developers to integrate narrative into their multiplayer modes, which is impossible at the moment.
She tells DigitalSpy that, “Let’s say a game where instead of having crowds where there are a hundred of them, what if there are 1,000 in the street, and you really feel that, and they’re acting intelligently.”
She adds, “It’s how that performance that makes sense and enriches the experience in a multiplayer context, where you’re not even watching a cinematic, but it’s performance of your character and the other characters being played by people, right?”
The evolution of multiplayer needs to focus more on creating atmosphere and offering context and less on the simple linear development of battle mechanics.
At the moment, the Jade Raymond led studio is putting the finishing touches on Splinter Cell: Blacklist, a new Sam Fisher adventure that will be launched on August 20 in North America and three days later in Europe on the PC and home consoles.
The multiplayer will focus on the classic Mercs versus Spies mechanics, with some upgraded features.
At the same time, Ubisoft Toronto is working on Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6: Patriots, which is expected to arrive on the PlayStation 4, the Xbox One and the PC in 2014.
No information has so far been offered on how the game will approach the multiplayer experience, but more info is expected to be released before the end of the year.
Rumors suggest that another unannounced game is also currently developed by a separate team, but no details are available about it.