Uncharted 4: A Thief's End lead designer Robert Cogburn says that the game's multiplayer won't support split-screen at launch, but the feature could be added later.

While it's a safe bet that many gamers are probably getting Uncharted 4: A Thief's End for its story, there are those interested in the game's multiplayer. Fan reception to the multiplayer component in Uncharted 4 seems to have been mostly positive thanks to a recent beta, but they may be upset to learn that the game will not have split-screen support at launch.

The news was confirmed during a livestream by Uncharted 4 lead designer Robert Cogburn. According to Cogburn, split-screen won't be included in Uncharted 4's multiplayer at launch due to the technical challenge behind implementing the mode.

Originally, it was Naughty Dog's intent to have Uncharted 4 support split-screen functionality. However, the feature was scrapped so that the game could meet its May 10th deadline. With Uncharted 4 delayed numerous times since its public reveal, some fans may not be too broken up about the game ditching split-screen in order to avoid yet another delay.

Even though Uncharted 4's multiplayer will launch without split-screen, Cogburn isn't ruling out the possibility that it will be added to the game in the future. However, he's not sure that it will be possible, and if split-screen does one day make its way to Uncharted 4, it will likely be a long time from now.

Of course, Naughty Dog's Uncharted 4 DLC plans show that the studio plans on supporting Uncharted 4 for at least a year's worth of updates. It's possible that split-screen could be added with one of those updates, but split-screen enthusiasts probably shouldn't hold their breath.

Split-screen remains a popular feature with gamers, but with Uncharted 4's main draw being its story, it seems doubtful that the lack of the feature in the game will cause an uproar. While Uncharted 3 had split-screen, Uncharted 2 didn't support the feature, and The Nathan Drake Collection abandoned multiplayer entirelyUncharted 4 dropping split-screen is not comparable to, for example, Halo 5 abandoning split-screen, as split-screen has been a staple of the Halo franchise since the start, whereas only one game in the Uncharted series has even featured it.

The Uncharted 4 multiplayer beta proved popular, and with or without split-screen, the game's multiplayer should still provide gamers with something fun to do after wrapping up the story. With Uncharted 4 set to launch in less thank a week's time, we will find out soon enough if the lack of split-screen will have any negative impact on the game's popularity.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End will be available on May 3rd, exclusively for PlayStation 4.

Source: Naughty Dog (via GameSpot)