Nye Warhorse trademarks antyder online features, men det betyder ikke, at det nye Kingdom Come-spil er multiplayer

Efter at have skabt to dybe og rige singleplayer-oplevelser, så er det måske tid for Warhorse Studios til at udvikle sig og arbejde på et multiplayer spil.

PC Gamer fik nys om et nyt varemærke indgivet af Warhorse, både i EU og USA. De afsnit i varemærket, der fører til al denne multiplayer-spekulation, henviser til IC 041-indgivelsen, som i EU henviser til "online interactive entertainment" og "electronic games services provided by means of a global communication network." Den amerikanske indgivelse er tilsvarende formuleret og henviser til "online computer games featuring virtual environments in which users can interact for entertainment purposes."

Selvom det hele måske lyder som en direkte indikation på, at det næste Kingdom Come-spil bliver en multiplayer-titel, siger video game IP-advokat Kirk Sigmon, at Warhorse blot dækker sine baser. "As part of our usual cautiousness, IP attorneys generally try to make sure that we file trademarks in enough classes to cover a broad spectrum of how the mark might be used by the company, as well as in view of the fact that certain terms can be read broadly. In turn, you can find plenty of examples of non-multiplayer games registered in IC 041," sagde han og henviste til Clair Obsur: Expedition 33 som et spil, der havde en IC 041-klassifikation uden at tilbyde nogen multiplayer-elementer.

"One of the biggest reasons IP attorneys might register a singleplayer game that way (e.g., referencing a game being 'online') is that the term 'online video game' could be interpreted pretty broadly - for example, I might need to argue sometime in the future that distribution of a game via Steam and/or a game with downloadable DLC is, in some sense, 'online.' Also, you never know if a game might go fully multiplayer in the future, so it helps to have that breadth. Along those lines, I've personally helped register trademarks in IC 041 for games that didn't have traditional multiplayer components," tilføjede Sigmon.

Så forvent nok ikke, at Warhorse kaster sig ud i multiplayer-verdenen i sit næste Kingdom Come-spil. På den anden side, kunne det være interessant at se et co-op rollespil sat i middelalderens Bohemia?