Many longtime fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series fondly remember the 1991 classic brawler, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. 

The upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan seems to be a potential successor to that game, however a bit of unfortunate news was confirmed for the game.

While Turtles in Time features local cooperative multiplayer, Mutants in Manhattan will be an online-only multiplayer experience. Mutants in Manhattan producer Robert Conkey explained (via Kinda Funny Games) why the game is an online-only experience:

“We actually really wanted to do local couch co-op, but the problem is if you do, then you have to split the screen, and suddenly your 60FPS situation gets a lot worse, and it also starts limiting, technically, the things you can do, so we had to go with online only.”

The reasoning behind this is twofold: the former was a 2D, side-scrolling brawler, so implementing local cooperative isn’t that tough – however, the latter is a full-3D third person brawler that sports the 60FPS fidelity Platinum Games are known for, and would need split-screen.

If you’re looking for a true local cooperative game with the four iconic heroes in a half shell, consider the 2.5D remake Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan is launching on May 24th across PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.