Why does OP hate teamwork in MP games?

I don't! I hate when it's in EVERY multiplayer. And that's how they currently are, and not for good reasons.

Some of them are excellent! PvE games like Deeprock and Helldivers are team games done right. The team-based aspect is actually used to its fullest potential for cooperation to be fun, not toxic.

But the PvP genre is oversaturated with team games. It's always soloqueueing into random squads of three, four, or five.

The last big solo game was Fortnite in 2018, and before that... Bedwars, I guess? Amogus??? Why aren't there any more?

Designing your game around teams is pretty malicious, actually.

Why is Apex squads of three? Why did they remove solos? Why is LoL 5V5, instead of 1V1V1V1? In these games, you're getting insulted by your team more often than cooperating with them in creative ways, so why not just add solo modes?

Because then you'll stop convincing your friends to play with you.

Imagine Apex was solo. You install the game, play solo for three months. You drop in, get a couple of kills, die. You're satisfied, and you bid the game goodbye after three months of playing it.

But Apex isn't solo.

So, the player has a choice - either play with shitty randoms without a mic 80% of the time...

Or they can invite their friends.

Remember Hakita's post about spreading good word about the game being as beneficial to the creator as buying it, because then someone might buy it because of you?

Team-based games exploit that factor to take away a player's ability to play solo, meaning they'll feel inclined to convince their friends to play with them - and those friends might get sucked in and spend. Exposure is key for F2P freemium games, because the more people try them, the bigger the chance they'll get sucked in and spend.

Plus - how are you gonna stop playing a game that all of your friends are playing? Without you, they have no healer! No tank! How could you do this to them? See the FOMO working its way into your brain?

Every time you LFG, you are literally being used as an advertisement for their game.

"But why would you even want a solo game over one with teams?"

There's a lot of benefits to those, actually!

-Zero toxicity. No team, no problem! Literally every MP game nowadays tells you "don't be toxic". So what if the outcome of half your games is thrown by people you have no control over? Just don't be toxic! Accept your undeserved loss with a big smile!

-No having to choose between playing with shitty randoms, and waiting for your friends to queue with you!

-No need for teamwork, which can feel like a burden and responsibility for people who just play the game because they want to pew pew with enemies. Mind you, there's still room for strategy, but that strategy can be fully determined by you and does not have to revolve around coordination with other people.

-More freedom! What do you mean, my team wants to go that way? I have no team!

-No blaming - if you win, it's your feat, if you lose, it's your fault.

-Full control over the match's outcome, decided only by your own skill.

"But I like playing with my friends!"

That's fine! You have a lot of team-based games to do that in!

But for people who prefer soloing, there's way less options to pick from. And I wish that would change.

If you think there's no demand for solo MP games, then why do you think support characters - the class that interacts with teammates - are always the least popular class in every game, and DPS ones - the class that interacts with enemies - are the most popular?

It's fun to have actual, tangible impact on the outcome of your match.

But can't have that in any game ever, I guess. Because we gotta FOMO players into inviting their friends or else they have to deal with muted randoms.

Do you agree we need more solo games? Or would you rather have everything stay team-based?