Bioshock was a hugely successful single-player game that had some, but not a lot, of combat. One of the biggest selling points of its soon-to-be-released sequel is its combat-focused multiplayer component.

I recently had the chance to speak with three members of the Bioshock 2 development team, and I asked them point blank, “Why add multiplayer to an established single-player franchise?” I also asked them to compare the challenges of working on a high-profile sequel to those they encountered when developing an original property.

I began with Mathieu Berube, the lead multiplayer designer from Digital Extremes. I wanted to know why they added multiplayer to the game, and just how, exactly, it fit in with the Bioshock theme:

Mathieu:

Click "read more" for more with Bioshock 2's developers.

Lead environmental artist, Hogarth de la Plante, revealed that it wasn’t just fans and press who were skeptical when Bioshock 2’s multiplayer was announced -- the development team had its own doubts:

Hogarth:

Many people who liked the first game, enjoyed it for its storyline and pacing -- not its combat. I asked senior producer, Melissa Miller, if Bioshock 2’s multiplayer has anything to offer those who aren’t skilled with a weapon. It turns out, she was the perfect person to ask:

Melissa:

There’s obviously a ton of pressure on everyone involved with Bioshock 2; clearly it’s more stressful than working on a game that nobody knows about...or so I thought. Mathieu feels differently:

Mathieu:

Hogarth isn't worried that Bioshock 2 will be a retail failure, but knows that it’s a bit more of a challenge to match fans’ expectations with a sequel:

Hogarth:

Melissa seems to agree that there’s more pressure working on the sequel, and it sounds like it’s all because of multiplayer skeptics like me:

Melissa:

I can’t review Bioshock 2’s multiplayer component just yet, but I will say that after a few hours of play, it surpassed my (admittedly low) expectations. I’m not sure that it’s going to be a game-changer for a lot of people (it probably won’t be for me), but the development team certainly put a lot of thought into the mode, and it’s not just there to look good on the back of the box. You’ll be able to find out for yourself when Bioshock 2 hits store shelves on February 9.