Fans are wondering if Back 4 Blood has split-screen, co-op multiplayer. This game is team-centric, and Left 4 Dead allowed the feature on console (and PC with a mod), so one would think that’d be a priority for Turtle Rock Studios. But, unfortunately, that’s not the case, at least in the open beta.
Can you play split-screen in Back 4 Blood multiplayer?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4Epmnk8G4Q
Unfortunately, Back 4 Blood doesn’t have split-screen multiplayer. While the campaign gives some excellent co-op action and versus is allows for thrilling PvP, multiplayer is online only. Turtle Rock Studios has commented that they may add split-screen later down the road, but don’t expect to see it at launch.
However, there is a silver lining to this. The game does support cross-play, so for the open beta, people can join a party using PC or Xbox. This means two people in the same house can play a lot easier than if the multiplayer were locked to one platform. This flexibility makes the lack of split-screen a bit easier to swallow.
Split-screen just hasn’t been a big consideration for video game developers in recent years. It’s understandable since it’s not just as simple as adding a second viewpoint. The interface has to be adjusted, and devs have to create more Level of Detail settings since there’s twice the processing to do with two players on one console.
Split-screen multiplayer saw its zenith in the fifth and sixth console generations and has been on the decline since. Despite the universally expressed fond memories of playing games like GoldenEye 007 and Halo with split-screen, the rise of online multiplayer has largely eliminated the need for the feature. Furthermore, since online multiplayer typically requires two copies of a game, not supporting split-screen results in increased profit for a studio.
Hopefully, Turtle Rock Studios will add the feature to Back 4 Blood in a future patch, but we wouldn’t hold our breath on it.
