Recently, it seems as though almost every new release comes with one missing feature. New game plus. For those that may not know, NG+ is a feature for games with a campaign that allows a player to restart a playthrough from the very beginning while keeping all of the gear, stats, and abilities they acquired the first time around. It is highly requested from developers and regardless of its popularity among the general gaming audience, it is often missing upon launch. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, and God of War: Ragnarök are a small sample of some of the titles guilty of this. While these studios are often quick to remind fans that a NG+ is coming shortly after launch it still begs the question, why do so many games release without it?

One of the main and perhaps most obvious answers, is the crucial, yet vital, development time studios save by not having to include NG+ at launch. Hitting dates to coincide with marketing and avoiding negative crunch press is incredibly important when releasing a game. While it may seem like a simple feature, NG+ is often much more complicated to integrate into a games infrastructure than one may think. Finding and avoiding exploits with a fully upgraded character before allowing them to revisit early game segments with a NG+ run is easier said than done. By not including it at launch developers can put their valuable time and resources towards bugs and polishing that is bound to have a much higher impact on a games review score than the inclusion of NG+ would have.

It is also relatively easy for a developer to ease fans concerns by mentioning shortly after or before launch that NG+ is being worked on and will be included alongside patches and other content that is expected down the road. Interestingly enough, this may also be why it is beneficial for them to include it at a later date as well. It keeps the spotlight and conversation on their title past the initial launch and gives their title a reason to be put back into gaming news headlines.

It is not uncommon to see headlines mentioning the release of NG+ alongside other content being added to a game. This is often done purposefully, with the intention of giving players a reason to jump back into their game. Aside from allowing players to re-experience a story with a fully upgraded character, offering a small incentive of newly added content can often give players that extra push when deciding to play a game again. This can be anything from new cosmetics or customization options, entirely new side content, and different playable characters to name a few. Single player games just don’t have the staying power and replayability that multiplayer games offer. Adding in a NG+ with some additional content helps to alleviate the decision to purchase an expensive game so players can feel like they are getting their moneys worth outside of a single playthrough.

While NG+ does allow a game to stay relevant for far longer than it normally would be, apart from hardcore audiences, it isn’t a feature that is used as often as one might think. For every serious gamer, there are ten casual ones who just play the games they find interesting without much of a second thought and move on afterward. So while many people may be upset that the inclusion of NG+ isn’t featured at launch, the number of people that were never going to use it in the first place is often quite high.

Of course, some games actually make NG+ a vital part of the core experience, sealing a lot of the most powerful and interesting weapons and customization options behind a second playthrough. Most Recently, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon did this and it definitely goes against the grain showcasing how instrumental a NG+ can be to a games core experience. Of course, some gamers don’t want the trouble of replaying a game twice though just to unlock everything. In fact, there was a lot of heated discussion around Sony’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales platinum trophy being locked behind a completion of NG+. While the game wasn’t too long to begin with, requiring players to essentially beat a game twice was considered to be overly tedious to some.

While NG+ is a highly requested feature for many modern titles, it seems more often than not developers are choosing to add it in after their game has launched. This can be attributed to many different factors with the most common being developers avoiding crunch, prioritizing polish, and staying relevant after release. Regardless if you are a gamer that enjoys NG+ or not, it is a feature that is requested for good reason. It lets players re-experience the story without having to grind for abilities and upgrades all over again. It can be quite frustrating to have to start over from square one after making so much progress in a previous playthrough. This coupled with new customization options and modes added after launch means that NG+ is generally worth waiting for. At the very least, taking away any additional difficulties of the already strenuous development process is a good thing. While it may be hard to wait for the addition of NG+ to a title you love, if it means we are going to be playing something that is patched and polished on release, that is an easy trade to make.

Opinion shared here is by the author and does not represent MP1st and its staff in its entirety.