After From Software used E3 2018 as a means to confirm the existence of its new title, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the developer stated it will not be a Soulsborne game, meaning that it intends to stand on its own apart from the company's previous projects. Now, the studio has decided to provide more details and speak up in regards to its decision to have the forthcoming action-adventure release eschew the inclusion of online multiplayer.

According to From Software's manager of marketing and communications, Yasuhiro Kitao, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice will exclude online multiplayer as a feature in order for it to focus more so on the single-player experience. For instance, not having online multiplayer means that players can now actually utilize a fully-functioning pause button, and they won't have to constantly be on the ready for a potential PvP invasion.

What's more is that with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice skipping out on the addition of online multiplayer, it affords From Software the ability to make boss fights specifically for a solo player. Not to mention, Kitao explains that the feature's exclusion will allow the studio a bit more creative freedom when it comes to designing and developing the game's map.

“When creating these playspaces, we don’t have to take into consideration how players will operate with one another in these maps, or how they may exploit the playspace by cooperating or something like this. So it allows us, again, to hone in on the player experience, and really capitalize on that lack of restriction that comes with creating a multiplayer-based game, and let our imagination run wild in these places.”

Taking all of this into account, it will definitely be interesting to see just how well From Software manages to keep its attention trained on delivering an adventure with only single-player aspects in mind with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. That said, even though the game is aiming to be its own experience and stand out from the the likes of Dark Souls and Bloodborne, fans shouldn't expect any less of a challenge. As a matter of fact, the game's director, Hidetaka Miyazaki has said that players "will die a lot" in Sekiro.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is scheduled to release on March 22, 2019 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: Game Informer