Space Marine 2's director says that PvPvE has become a "holy grail" of game design. He doesn't plan to chase after it.

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine 2 allows up to three players to participate in co-op PvE battles. It also offers competitive 6v6 PvP action for those who enjoy that kind of thing. According to Dmitry Grigorenko of the game director, there is no plan for a PvPvE. This is for practical reasons.

When asked if such a mode could be added to Space Marine 2, Grigorenko replied, "PvPvE" is the holy grail of video game design. "A lot studios are trying and many of them fail. It's a very, very difficult task. It may sound great on paper but it can be very frustrating to fight other players and then get savaged by an AI opponent.

"This is the reason why most games try to ensure that PvP aspects and PvE don't overlap that much. AI opponents are restricted on specific maps, etc. It's a difficult mode to implement, and it would change the game experience significantly. I'm sorry there are no plans."

On paper, a PvPvE game mode sounds thrilling: you're blasting at a squadron of Chaos Marine goons. Bullets are flying, weapons are swinging and stuff is blowing up. And then, Xenos appears! But would it work out that way in reality? I think Grigorenko is right: Unexpected events can lead to some interesting emergent gameplay, but only until they happen to YOU. At that point it becomes pure bullshit. Who thought that this was a good plan?

Saber is already busy keeping Space Marine 2 in balance. The latest patch for the game added a new level of difficulty to its co-op multiplayer, among other changes. It was not well received: Over 2,000 negative reviews were posted since the patch went live on October 17. This wasn't enough to affect the "mostly positive rating," but it was enough to draw the attention of publisher Focus Entertainment. They promised to release a new patch this week with "balancing fix" fixes.