Borderlands 3 creative director says "co-op has been radically underserved for years" and that's why Helldivers 2 was such a breakout success
Nov. 23, 2024Arrowhead’s success “shows people are hungry for this co-op experience”
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Borderlands 3’s creative director, Paul Sage, says co-op fans have been “radically underserved for years, " giving his new studio’s first project plenty of opportunity to appeal.
Sage’s new studio, Ruckus Games, revealed just last week that it was working on a multiplayer shooter promising “a large roster of playable characters and thousands of unique make-shift weapon combinations.” The developer – featuring talent fromGearbox, Riot Games, Blizzard, and more – has alsojust raised $19m in fundingto help the team make it.
While making a co-op hot off the heels of Helldivers 2’s success and the upcomingBorderlands 4is a challenge, Sage reckons it’s worth the bet to serve fans who are still “radically underserved.”
“The good news is that we’ve sold it to the parts of the industry we need to sell it to to get it developed,” he says, before adding “I actually think co-op has been underserved for years. Like radically underserved for years.
“Number one, we have to create a great game. If we don’t create a great game, nobody’s going to want to come to that game. I think that co-op itself has been growing year after year. If you just look at it, it really has. I’ve mentioned Helldivers 2, and I think it shows people are hungry for this co-op experience, especially with the internet right now.”
Sage goes on to say he’s a big fan of making sure you canactuallyexperience something. “Before you put your toe in the water to do co-op, can you play solo? So I hope the answer is yes,” he says.
“I think the best thing to think about is, ‘Is this going to be something that feels fresh to people?’ And if you and I just sit here and pass back and forth feature after feature after feature, that’s not going to feel fresh.
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Promising, though we may have to wait a while to see what Sage and company is cooking. Ruckus Games has yet to announce a reveal window, though you can head to itswebsiteto sign up for updates and playtest invitations. Hopefully, we’ll hear and see more soon.
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Iain joins the GamesRadar team as Deputy News Editor following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When not helping Ali run the news team, he can be found digging into communities for stories – the sillier the better. When he isn’t pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new hat, you’ll find him amassing an army of Pokemon plushies.
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