SoulCalibur: Lost Swords has no multiplayer ‘because of pay-to-win model’

The producer of Bandai Namco title SoulCalibur: Lost Swords has apparently stated that the game was designed to use a pay-to-win” payment model.

That, producer Masaaki Hoshino has told Siliconera, is the reason why the free-to-play fighter opted for singleplayer instead of multiplayer gameplay.

Originally we were thinking about having a multiplayer option, but because we’re going with a pay-to-win model, we were worried that by having online multiplayer, for all the new users that would be coming in experiencing the game for the first time, they might be immediately deterred by fighting against opponents who had superior equipment and gear—and we didn’t want to have that kind of negative impact on new players,” he’s quoted as saying.

In the singleplayer experience, having a pay-to-win structure won’t impede the player’s experience with the game.”

The developer also said that the decision to go free-to-play and to broaden the title’s accessibility was an attempt to reach a broader market.

The reason for going free-to-play wasn’t so much about the business model itself, but the idea that we wanted to expand the market to the more casual user, and we thought that free-to-play would fit that model better,” he added.

Because this time around it is a singleplayer experience, we’re trying to make it more user-friendly, more exhilarating. You’ll find that even by button mashing sometimes, you may discover a brand new combo you might not have encountered before. We really want users to come and try it out, and for it to be a great experience for everyone.”

The game, which came out last month, was disrupted at launch with technical issues.