Atomic Heart flip-flops on multiplayer, now says it'll be single player only

Atomic Heart combat
(Image credit: Focus Entertainment)

Atomic Heart has reversed course on multiplayer, now confirming that "the entire experience" will be single-player.

You might remember that, once upon a time, Atomic Heart developer Mundfish had been planning PvP elements and even had this little tidbit on the game's website (thanks, PC Gamer): "If you are ready to challenge other players, a secret railway will get you to a special region meant for PvP battle." The studio also told Wccftech back in 2019 that there would be dedicated PvP regions, however it's now confirmed to the same publication that there won't be multiplayer at all in Atomic Heart.

"The entire Atomic Heart experience will be single-player, focusing on the story and player experience," said game director Robert Bagratuni. "No multiplayer add-ons are planned at this time."

Bagratuni didn't get into the reasoning for the flip-flop, but he did attribute the game's prolonged delay to "youth, ambition, innovation, and new technology." He also broke down some of the game's post launch plans, which will include at least four DLC packs and "new territories, quests, puzzles, enemies, as well as character and world stories."

"We plan to significantly expand both the open-world territories, as well as new complexes and labs - where the player will learn more about the Atomic Heart world and will need to complete new challenges."

On a loosely related note, Atomic Heart also got a new trailer today showcasing its DLSS 3 and ray tracing features. As ever, it's a stupidly pretty looking game, although it probably won't look quite as good on consoles, especially last-gen ones. Here's that gameplay trailer for ya:

Atomic Heart is just one of the many new games of 2023 we can't wait to play.

Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.