Spelunky 2 multiplayer is expected to arrive in early December

A rough start for Spelunky 2 multiplayer on the PlayStation 4 meant that it was absent from the game when it went live on PC. And absent it remains to this day—but hopefully not for too much longer. Developer Mossmouth said today that two of the three planned "major improvements" are now complete, and it hopes to have online play ready to go in early December.

The studio said the implementation of multiplayer is taking longer than expected for a couple of reasons. For one, the problems with multiplayer on PS4 were more severe than first anticipated, and "deeper changes of the internal game logic and the rollback were required to get it to where we want it to be." Those changes need more testing before they can be released, and since they'll also impact the PC version—and because Mossmouth really doesn't want to be dealing with a flood of PS4 and PC problems at the same time—everyone has to wait.

Post-launch support of the game has also taken precedence: Spelunky 2 is more complex than the original, and it released to a much larger audience, which means there's a lot more "feedback" for the developers to respond to.

"This work does slow down the development of online somewhat, since there's a lot of overlap in the relatively small team working on Spelunky 2. But hopefully you've found it to be worth it!" Mossmouth wrote.

"In the end, all of this work is going toward the same place, because Spelunky 2 is a game where the different modes and systems are all very interconnected. So rest assured that anything we're doing, whether it's for PS4 or Steam, single-player or multiplayer, local or online, will improve some aspect of the game that you're interested in!"

Mossmouth said further updates on the status of Spelunky 2 multiplayer will be posted as it gets closer. In the meantime, if you've never seen a Spelunky 2 player ring up a high score in excess of $5 million—and you've got several hours to kill—here's your chance.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.