It was expected -- known, even -- that ancient-Roman Xbox One launch title Ryse: Son of Rome would have a multiplayer mode. But until now, nobody knew what it would entail.
Developer Crytek mentioned that they wouldn't be talking about multiplayer just yet, but then Cinematic Director Peter Gornstein said, "Well, you can't have multiplayer without the Colosseum."
I pressed further, and Gornstein confirmed that Ryse will include a two-player, "back-to-back" (though not necessarily literally) cooperative mode set in the Roman Colosseum. And like the real-life entertainment spectacles in the Colosseum during ancient Rome, the stages in the center of the famous arena will change, leading to a plethora of gameplay possibilities.
"Entire sets change by coming up through the floor," Gornstein said, and cited examples like flooding the Colosseum floor (which they actually did) or putting a forest in there. This creates a near infinite number of potential gameplay scenarios. Sounds cool, right?