Offline multiplayer games are increasingly becoming rarer in video games. While advancements in internet structure have made the experience better, there are still issues to this day with server disconnections and lag. It has become an issue where players without stable internet connections are forced into a lesser experience. Back 4 Blood, for example, is essentially a continuation of the Left 4 Dead series, which always supported offline modes. So can you play Back 4 Blood offline?

Unfortunately, Back 4 Blood does not support offline play — at least at launch. This means that you are required to always be connected to the internet to play, even if playing a game with only bots. This is an odd decision for a game that many would argue should not require an internet connection. With bots readily available, those with unreliable internet should be able to access the game.

While offline functionality is not supported in the game at launch, Turtle Rock Studios did state in a reply on Twitter that they are looking to bring offline modes in the future.

This news that Back 4 Blood cannot be played offline is rather unfortunate for fans of Left 4 Dead, which supported offline modes rather heavily. The lack of offline play also became apparent rather soon after the announcement of no splitscreen support. It appears that we are going to have to just hope that the servers at the beginning of the game’s life are stable enough to provide a good experience to those who can play.