sgy0003: The other direction I see them taking is one of those drop-in and out co-op gameplay for the single player campaign, which will be a good thing. Two (or maybe even four) players work together to complete missions, and they get to use their own characters from their game. But I can also see balancing issues, where stronger players join low-level game, brushing through the mission.
Again, these modes might sound fun on the paper, but will probably be boring in practice. There is also a good chance CDPR not delivering at least functional multiplayer, since they have no experience in making a multiplayer.
I like this idea (on paper, as you say). Assuming the loot is generated for each player individually rather than shared, and the balancing is done well indeed, it could prove quite fun.
But with this, even more than with other multiplayer, it becomes concerning that you are forced to interact with other players who can mismatch their voice and 'body type', not to mention clothing.
I wonder if you're right about the possibility of them throwing in the towel on multiplayer. It doesn't seem very CDPR, in my impression, to be satisfied with dysfunctional game modes. Then again, it also doesn't seem on brand for them to hire a different company with more experience to help out.
sgy0003: However, since CDPR has different mindset compare to 2K, Ubisoft, or EA, I do not see them trying to capitalize on the multiplayer. They already said no MTX or lootboxes for singleplayer, and I am sure the promise will carry over.
At best, I think there will be season pass and paid dlcs, but each dlcs containing contents for both single and multiplayer.
'Sure' is an overly strong word, but I agree, they (still) care about their consumer-friendly reputation too much to dabble in that sort of thing.
If it is done well, DLC may not be the worst way of providing the game with longevity.
@Ramalian: I agree, if the micro-transactions are truly purely aesthetic there would be nothing bad about them, though also nothing good, imho. My concern with multiplayer micro-transactions, is that devs often start leaking in some p2w anyway under the guise of harmless cosmetics.
