Turtle Rock Studios revealed a little more about its co-op zombie shooter at E3 this year, showing off the many waysBack 4 Bloodis built for an online multiplayer experience. Whether players team up to take down the game’s massive zombie hordes or slug it out in theSwarm PvP mode, the group play element of the game is clear to see. But what about solo players who don’t mind gunning down Ridden with a team of bots? Turtle Rock has stated for these players, an internet connection will still be required.
This may be a tough pill to swallow for many fans who were hoping thatBack 4 Bloodwould follow in the footsteps of its inspiration,Left 4 Dead, and allow offline play. After all, Turtle Rock has stated that it wanted to “take what made [Left 4 Dead] so fun, and then couple that with modern day graphics and technology.” While this seems most detrimental to players with slower internet connections, there are still players with good internet connections who may prefer to play solo. Requiring internet to play simply reminds some gamers of the downsides oflive-service video games.
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Turtle Rock recently responded to a fan’s message on Twitter asking about any potential offline aspects ofBack 4 Blood. The company stated that while it is looking into future support for offline play,Back 4 Bloodwill require an internet connection to play on launch day. Some potential players quickly responded to Turtle Rock’s message with criticism, asking whyBack 4 Bloodwon’t allow offline play if Turtle Rock was able to do it withLeft 4 Dead.
Back 4 Bloodwill have a campaign modeat launch, and these story based modes are often the ones solo players gravitate toward. While the game clearly has more to offer gamers who will get invested in multiplayer modes, the lack of offline support can be interpreted as a push to engage with live-service elements, whether Turtle Rock intends this or not. Some gamers may still be wary of the developer’s live-service practices afterEvolve, which saw many players leaving the game because of extensive microtransactions for monsters, hunters, and skins.
There’s also online support to consider. Turtle Rock will need to be confident in its online support on launch day if it wants to avoid the issues that plagued another Game Pass co-op shooter,Outriders. Many players were upset early on when connection issues kept them from playing the game, which turned into questions as to why there was no offline support for campaign play. Ultimately, fans will have to wait and see if any form of offline support is added in the months followingBack 4 Blood’s launch on Game Passin October.
Back 4 Bloodreleases June 22, 2025 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
