Ru Weerasuriya, co-founder of Ready at Dawn, expressed that his main regret regarding the PS4 exclusive game, The Order: 1886, was the insufficient development time. In a recent interview, he disclosed that approximately 30% of the game`s content was removed to meet its February 2015 release deadline.
Speaking with The Game Business, Weerasuriya reflected on the game`s lukewarm critical reception and the studio`s desire to create a sequel. He specifically addressed the common criticism about the game`s short length (a reviewer reportedly completed it in 6 hours), stating, “We cut… I want to say 30% of the game a few months before it was released. We decided it had to come out in the time allotted. Were we to do it again, I would`ve probably tried to figure out a way to extend the development.”
Just before its launch on February 20, 2015, a leaked gameplay video appeared online showing The Order: 1886 being completed in just five hours. Ready at Dawn quickly refuted this, asserting that the actual game length was closer to eight to ten hours.
Weerasuriya also discussed the absence of a multiplayer mode in The Order: 1886. He explained, “We did do a multiplayer in the first year of development, but we didn`t have the budget and time to finish it and, together with Sony, we decided to kill it in year two, and hopefully bring it back in a sequel.” He added that the multiplayer prototype was “functioning” and “fun.”
Despite Weerasuriya mentioning having “the story for the second and third one,” a sequel never materialized. Sony had previously delayed The Order: 1886 in May 2014, pushing its release to 2015.
Earlier this year, Andrea Pessino, the other co-founder of Ready at Dawn, also commented on The Order: 1886`s potential sequel. He echoed Weerasuriya`s sentiment about content being cut due to release pressure. Ready at Dawn was acquired by Facebook in 2020 but was subsequently shut down last year.