UPDATE July 21 – More than four months after the release of Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Ubisoft is finally talking about the PvP mode. It’s called Ghost War and brings 4v4 Team Deathmatch to wide open maps. A series of beta tests are coming later this summer to help balance the mode. Here’s the trailer.
UPDATE March 2 – Ubisoft confirms PvP/competitive multiplayer is coming as part of a free post-launch update. Ubisoft describes it as 4v4 team combat, “that will put your skills to the test.” The full trailer below briefly touches on what else we can expect from Ghost Recon: Wildlands post-launch.
Ghost Recon: Wildlands release date is right around the corner, and we still haven’t heard concrete details about multiplayer. I’m not talking about its expansive co-op multiplayer. I’m talking competitive multiplayer, or PvP. Pretty unusual to have zero details about a mode most fans think of when it comes to Ghost Recon.
So, what’s going on? Here’s what we know.
PvP is in Ghost Recon: Wildlands
During a hands-on last June, GameInformer was told by Ubisoft they have plans for competitive multiplayer. At the time, the publisher said they were holding off on details until a later date. Just over a month away from release and we still haven’t heard a peep about it. Which brings me to my next point.
It’s coming after launch
This little piece of info comes from VG247’s recent hands-on with the multiplayer co-op. Buried towards the bottom of the piece is this:
Ubisoft recently confirmed a PvP mode to be added after launch, but no details have been shared.
Kotaku Australia reports the same thing in their recent hands-on.
It looks like we’re getting the GTA V treatment for multiplayer. In GTA V’s case, the multiplayer released two weeks after the game’s release. At least with GTA Online, we saw gameplay footage months before its release. Here’s a meaty trailer released two months before GTA Online.
Don’t let us down, Ubisoft
Maybe Ubisoft is on the verge of a competitive multiplayer blowout. I hope so. Ever since the reveal of Wildlands, I’ve been waiting for my third-person tactical shooter multiplayer fix. Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter was one of the first games I sank a ton of hours into. And after Ubisoft blew us away with Rainbow Six: Siege, I’ve been crossing my fingers for a repeat performance with Wildlands.
Ghost Recon: Wildlands is an ambitious game. There’s no denying that. The virtual recreation of Bolivia is massive and tying that all together into a four-player co-op game had to be a daunting task. But don’t leave old-school Ghost fans who love competitive multiplayer out to dry.
The thing is, I strangely feel better about Wildlands multiplayer coming post launch. One of my biggest concerns about multiplayer in an open-world game like this is devs just using the world to create maps. I want to see specifically designed maps. I have no doubt the open-world created by the devs works great for co-op. But it might not be the best for structured multiplayer like Team Deathmatch or Last Man Standing.
If the devs need a bit of extra time for hand-crafted multiplayer maps, I’m fine with that. Just tell us, Ubisoft.
I’ll be keeping this post updated as I find more info about competitive multiplayer. If I’m missing anything, let me know in the comments.