A new leak has come for Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, and it doesn’t seem like there was much FromSoftware could do about it.
As reported by Insider Gaming, the physical game has already been spotted in the wild. Without even getting them on a console, fans read through the case and confirmed that Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon would have six person multiplayer. They also confirmed that this mode would allow for three spectators.
Insider Gaming also notes that the media embargo for Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon lifts tomorrow, July 25, 2023, so we may learn immediately what these multiplayer modes are, but FromSoftware definitely would not have appreciated that it leaked so early.
But if you think about it, it only makes sense that FromSoftware would have come up with multiplayer for Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. Multiplayer is a key part of FromSoftware’s modern day DNA. While it would be tempting to discuss how FromSoftware uses multiplayer in games like Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls, actually, they have been doing it for longer on the Armored Core franchise.
It all goes back to Armored Core 2: Another Age on the PlayStation 2 in 2001. FromSoftware offered broadband multiplayer, but this feature was only available in Japan and removed for its global release.
This all came about because of a quirk of online services; namely, that broadband internet hadn’t spread around the world yet the way that it did in Japan. For the PlayStation 2, Final Fantasy XI would go a long way towards making online console gaming popular among gamers, but it didn’t release in the USA until 2004.
Subsequently, for Armored Core 3, FromSoftware opted to add options to their multiplayer modes so that you could play multiplayer, with multiple PlayStation 2 consoles, using link cables. Alternately, there were versions of the multiplayer modes you can play on single player, using bots. But that would change on the PS360 era.
For Armored Core 4, debuting on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live, FromSoftware offered a variety of seven player deathmatch modes. For Armored Core V, there were five on five team based battles. Each team would have an Operator, who would also be leader for their respective team, responsible for each objective.
It seems that FromSoftware’s multiplayer ambitions for Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon won’t involve adding all the modes that were present in previous games, but that’s OK. It may make more sense to make specific modes that better fit the essential game concept for each particular game.
Whatever they come up with, FromSoftware may need to do more than coast on their reputation if they want to make mecha games as large as their Soulsborne games.
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon will be released on August 25, 2023, on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Windows on Steam
