Updated at 6:45 p.m. with new information from Ubisoft about Trials Fusion’s multiplayer.
Ubisoft is revving up the engine for its motorbike-platforming game once again with a free update.
The publisher released a patch for Trials Fusion today that finally unlocks the online Tournaments mode. This will enable players to enter organized events that run for a limited time. Your goal is to earn your best combined time on three tracks. The higher you place on the leaderboard once the event is over, the better the prize you’ll receive. Rewards include gear for your rider, bike parts, and experience points. Today’s update will also introduce 10 player-created tracks to everyone playing Fusion. While a new, free mode is exciting, it is nothing like the online head-to-head multiplayer fans of the series were hoping for.
Trials Fusion debuted in April without an online multiplayer mode. This is a feature that Ubisoft and developer RedLynx introduced in Fusion’s predecessor, Trials Evolution. When we reached out to the publisher about the lack of the mode, a spokesperson told us that “Trials Fusion will support a new type of online multiplayer experience.” If you’re worried that the Tournaments mode is that new experience, don’t — Ubisoft says it is still working on a head-to-head online multiplayer mode.
In Tournaments, you still play by yourself. It is an asynchronous multiplayer experience. In Evolution, players could join lobbies and race simultaneously on the same track. This is something you can still do in Fusion — it just only works in the offline local multiplayer mode.
“Based on the metrics from Trials Evolution, RedLynx saw that online multiplayer wasn’t [a popular] feature among players,” a spokesperson for Ubisoft told GamesBeat in April.
While today’s update is free, Ubisoft plans to start rolling out its paid downloadable content this summer. That includes six pieces that it will sell for $5 each, but fans can guarantee access to all the add-ons by purchasing the $20 season pass. These expansions will introduce new tracks, bike parts, items for the editor, and more.
