Warhammer 40k Darktide developer Fatshark confirms it plans to release a solo mode for the grimdark co-operative shooter. Writing in a Steam community update published on December 8, the company describes a number of post-launch reforms to the game it is making in light of player feedback, and confirms it’s “actively working” on solo play.
A solo mode “technically could work now” says Fatshark, but the team isn’t happy with the state of the mode and won’t consider releasing it yet. The developer doesn’t elaborate any further on what the problems are, but, given the lacklustre performance of AI teammates, improving bot behaviour is likely to be a main priority.
Fatshark also has good news for groups of players who want to keep their games private: starting this week, once you’re in a strike team of two or more players you can opt into private play, which will prevent people who aren’t on a teammate’s friends list from hot-joining a mission in progress.
The announcement of a Warhammer 40k Darktide solo mode seems to have been overshadowed by other information given in the update, such as reforms to the in-game cosmetic shop that make it easier to buy precise quantities of the in-game currency Aquilas. However, many players (Wargamer editor Alex Evans included) will be glad of the option to play Darktide without the unreliable, kill-stealing, ammo-hoovering, human element of random match-making.
How Fatshark plans to balance players’ progression without this constant competition for resource pickups remains to be seen – we’ll keep you updated with more Darktide solo mode news as it arises.
If you’re new to the grim and dark world depicted in Darktide, you might need these guides to all the Warhammer 40k factions, or just the Imperium of Man.