Asingle-player video game is avideo game whereinput from only one player is expected throughout thegameplay. Video games in general can feature severalgame modes, including single-player modes designed to be played by a single player in addition tomulti-player modes.
Most modernconsole games andarcade games are designed so that they can be played by a single player; although many of these games have modes that allow two or more players to play (not necessarily simultaneously), very few actually require more than one player for the game to be played. TheUnreal Tournament series is one example of such.[1]
The earliest video games, such asTennis for Two (1958),Spacewar! (1962), andPong (1972), were symmetrical games designed to be played by two players. Single-player games gained popularity only after this, with early titles such asSpeed Race (1974)[2] andSpace Invaders (1978).
The reason for this, according toRaph Koster, is down to a combination of several factors: increasingly sophisticated computers and interfaces that enabledasymmetric gameplay,cooperative gameplay and story delivery within a gaming framework, coupled with the fact that the majority of early games players had introverted personality types (according to theMyers-Briggs personality type indicator).[3]
Although most modern games incorporate a single-player element either as the core or as one of several game modes, single-player gaming had been viewed by thevideo game industry as peripheral to the future of gaming, withElectronic Arts vice president Frank Gibeau stating in 2012 that he had not approved one game to be developed as a single-player experience.[4]
The question of the financial viability of single-playerAAA games was raised following the closure ofVisceral Games byElectronic Arts (EA) in October 2017. Visceral had been a studio that established itself on a strong narrative single-player focus withDead Space, and had been working on a single-player, linear narrativeStar Wars game at the time of the closure; EA announced following this that they would be taking the game in a different direction, specifically "a broader experience that allows for more variety and player agency".[5] Many commentators felt that EA made the change as they did not have confidence that a studio with an AAA-scale budget could produce a viable single-player game based on the popularStar Wars franchise. Alongside this, as well as relatively poor sales of games in the year prior that were principally AAA single-player games (Resident Evil 7,Prey,Dishonored 2, andDeus Ex: Mankind Divided) against financially successful multiplayer games and those offer a games-as-a-service model (Overwatch,Destiny 2, andStar Wars Battlefront 2), were indicators to many that the single-player model for AAA was waning.[6][7][8][9] Manveer Heir, who had left EA after finishing his gameplay design work forMass Effect Andromeda, acknowledged that the culture within EA was against the development of single-player games, and with Visceral's closure, "that the linear single-player triple-A game at EA is dead for the time being".[10]Bethesda on December 7, 2017, decided to collaborate withLynda Carter to launch a Public Safety Announcement to save single-player gaming.[11]
A few years later in 2021, EA was reported to have revived interest in single-player games, following the successful launch ofStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order in 2020. The company still planned on releasing live service games with multiplayer components, but began evaluating its IP catalog for more single-player titles to revive, such as a remake of theDead Space franchise.[12] Around the same time, head ofXbox Game Studios Phil Spencer said that they still see a place for narrative-driven single-player games even though the financial drivers of the market tended to be live service games. Spencer said that developing such games with AAA-scale budgets can be risky, but with availability of services likecloud gaming and subscription services, they can gauge audience reaction to these games early on and reduce the risk involved before releases.[13]
As the narrative and conflict in single-player gameplay is created by a computer rather than a human opponent, single-player games are able to deliver certain gaming experiences that are typically absent—or de-emphasised—in multiplayer games.[14]
Single-player games rely more heavily on compelling stories to draw the player into the experience and to create a sense of investment. Humans are unpredictable, so human players - allies or enemies - cannot be relied upon to carry a narrative in a particular direction, and so multiplayer games tend not to focus heavily on a linear narrative. By contrast, many single-player games are built around a compelling story.[15]
While a multiplayer game relies upon human-human interaction for its conflict, and often for its sense of camaraderie, a single-player game must build these things artificially. As such, single-player games require deeper characterisation of theirnon-player characters in order to create connections between the player and the sympathetic characters and to develop deeper antipathy towards the game'santagonists. This is typically true ofrole-playing games (RPGs), such asDragon Quest and theFinal Fantasy, which are primarily character-driven and have a different setting.
These game elements are not firm, fixed rules; single-playerpuzzle games such asTetris orracing games focus squarely on gameplay.
