Trials Fusion won’t get online multiplayer until ‘months after launch’

You can buy Ubisoft’s latest Trials game right now. A physical version is in stores for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 today, but you can’t play its online multiplayer mode. Not because of any server issues, but because it isn’t available yet.

Trials Fusion includes a ton of content and online functionality. The $40 disc (and $20 digital download that comes out tomorrow) has dozens of stages with leaderboards that enable you to compete against your friends, but it is missing the head-to-head online four-player mode from Trials Evolution. Developer RedLynx found that fans didn’t really dig that, so it took it out … but it hasn’t finished the new mode that it came up with to replace it.

“Trials Fusion will support a type of online multiplayer experience as, based on the metrics from Trials Evolution, RedLynx saw that online multiplayer wasn’t [a popular] feature among players,” an Ubisoft spokesperson told GamesBeat. “So instead of bringing back the same feature, the team decided to take the time to create a new, more robust online multiplayer experience that will be released as a free game update in the months after launch.”

When you start Trials Fusion, you’ll have the option to select a bunch of single player levels as well as local multiplayer. The game also has a “Tournaments” mode that is currently unavailable, which is the online mode that is still in production.

We asked for details about this feature — including how it will work and when players can expect it — but Ubisoft isn’t talking.

“We don’t have any additional information to share about online multiplayer at this time.”

Earlier this month, Ubisoft released a trailer showing off the “competition” aspect of Trials. It showed off the local multiplayer and leaderboard chasing, but it failed to mention the tournaments or online head-to-head play.

For more on Trials, check out our full review of Fusion, which goes up tomorrow at 7 a.m. Pacific.