Directive 8020 finally gets online multiplayer for up to five players, plus choice voting and new Premonitions

The Cassiopeia can take a full crew online now. Supermassive Games released the long-awaited online multiplayer update for Directive 8020 on Monday, October 19, according to its Steam announcement. Up to five players can now play through the story together from separate places. Before this, multiplayer was couch co-op only.

Two ways to play:

• Custom Mode brings the couch co-op setup online. Everyone picks a character at the start, and when your character is on screen, you’re in control.
• Round Robin Mode skips character picks. Control passes from player to player after a set amount of time.

Voting on the big calls. A new Choice Voting feature shows on screen who voted for which outcome, so the player in control can go with the group or, as Supermassive puts it, “break ranks and go your own way.”

Mix and match locations. Any split of up to five people works: five players in five homes, or two in one room and three in another.

Also in the update:

• 13 Premonitions. The Dark Pictures series’ classic collectibles come to Directive 8020, each giving a glimpse of a possible future to help (or haunt) your decisions.
• A new wardrobe DLC with retro silver space suits for the cast. The announcement doesn’t list a price.

The fine print. Online play is not cross-play, and every player needs their own copy of the game. Supermassive had promised in late September that online multiplayer would arrive in October. The game launched in May with local couch co-op only.

PPR take: Supermassive’s games have always been best with friends yelling at the screen, so getting that online is the update fans were waiting for. Round Robin with voting sounds like a great way to doom your crew together. Just make sure everyone owns the game on the same platform first.