[steelybran]

Just looking at modern game design, this is certainly a doable concept.  I was brainstorming the concepts that make SR work, and how other games have been developed recently that all work in tandem.

1. Missions are essentially Heists

So GTA Online incorporated Heists a few years ago, and the concept would work well as a building block for SR Missions. 
You can queue up for a random group.  Select a role (Melee, Ranged, Magic, Rigger, Decker, Etc) and wait for the Mission to be launched.  Hang out in a player's pad until it launches.  Of course, you could have both fully pre-packaged missions as well as randomly generated ones, instead of re-running the same missions over and over again.

2. Open world exploration of 6th World Seattle would be amazing

Just look at game demos of Cyberpunk 2077 for a general idea of how far along gaming has come.

3. First player stories are no longer a forgotten concept

Along with random/free missions, a storymode can be incorporated.  Just look at Star Wars: The Old Republic, where each class had a unique storyline to go along with the regular quests, etc.

4. Random encounters would be incredible



5. Loot concepts are already built into the core game.

Loot a weapon?  Awesome.  Loot a weapon with more attachments, in better shape?  Weapons with incredibly high availability ratings?
Loot cyberware - got Alphaware Wired Reflexes Rat 1?  That boss had Deltaware Wired Reflexes Rat 3.

6. No classes.  No levels.

Street cred baby.  Much like "gear ratings", your street cred would determine unlocks, etc.
See Star Wars: Galaxies for how much players actually LOVE classless MMOs.
Gear+Cyberware (Or Spells) + Customization of skills - It won't take too many options before you start seeing incredibly unique builds.

7. Reasons for subscriptions.

Want a F2P game but still encourage people to get subscriptions without giving them more powerful characters?
* F2P - Poor Lifestyle.  Your apartment is small and you have fewer options to customize the look
* Purchased from the game store - Medium Lifestyle
* Subscription  - High Lifestyle
* Purchased the Gold Edition (or whatever) - Luxury Lifestyle

8. Guides will be Immortal Elves; GM's Dragons

...  Nah, but still

9. Edge would be used to activate special abilities to account for the MMO concept

Edge would, instead of generating dice re-rolls, could account for:
* A quick "respawn" at 1/4 health
* Increased/Automatic critical hit
* Traded at the end of missions for boosts to loot


I, admittedly, have no idea what it would cost.  Probably a minimum of $150 million, so this is almost assuredly a pipe dream.  Still, the idea of my Elven Sniper Weapon Specialist running with my wife's Covert Ops and a few friends from across the country?  I'd be all in.

[Michael Chandra]

The failure of Shadowrun Chronicles (in part due to the broken garbage collector at launch), will make it very hard to convince Topps to license. So yeah it'd cost buckets full of money.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

It WOULD be neat though, yes.

[Xenon]

I would play this

[steelybran]

The failure of Shadowrun Chronicles (in part due to the broken garbage collector at launch), will make it very hard to convince Topps to license. So yeah it'd cost buckets full of money.

Well that, and making a "turn based" MMO is generally a bad idea.

[Michael Chandra]

Under the Initiative Passes system past editions used, or the Major/Minor system of SR6, unfortunately real time wouldn't translate well. It's tricky.

[steelybran]

Under the Initiative Passes system past editions used, or the Major/Minor system of SR6, unfortunately real time wouldn't translate well. It's tricky.

Honestly, a direct or even semi-direct rules translation from a pen-and-paper to an MMO is a bad process.

Like, playing a ranged character would still utilize your own ability to aim. 

The setting and story elements are the critical part, and keeping the idea of a classless world.

[Hephaestus]

You could always implement a system similar to the "Skillshot" system from Bulletstorm. You charge abilities over time, but the more efficient you are in combat, the faster those abilities charge.

[dezmont]

I actually think SR would make a good asymetric Moba, like with you picking a team of runners vs a group of security directors who vary in focus from actually upgrading the facility, directing employees during the run, or countering the runners in the meat, astral, or matrix. This way you wouldn't have to cope with the insane depth of trying to emulate SR's customization, which means characters could have one off mechanics much like Mobas already do. Like a big problem with SR videogames is modeling exotic types of PCs, a very popular type of PC, doesn't work great because they depend on concepts that tend to get cut and have lots of one-off powers, but if you don't need every character to potentially have access to every mechanic anyway its easy to make a character in your game that just has a totally unique power or downside or whatever.

More realistically, it would be an instanced based MMO. You know, like the one we got that unfortunately wasn't great. That said a Warframe like shadowrun game wouldn't be too bad at all.

Also it would make a great shooter. I would say it did, because Shadowrun for the 360 was AMAZING and I actively miss playing it every day (seriously, it was wildly ahead of its time, taking a basic Counterstrike Formula but basically making it also an Overwatch style hero shooter before those really existed as a genre!), but it had VERY little to do with actual shadowrun.

[GuardDuty]

Also it would make a great shooter. I would say it did, because Shadowrun for the 360 was AMAZING and I actively miss playing it every day (seriously, it was wildly ahead of its time, taking a basic Counterstrike Formula but basically making it also an Overwatch style hero shooter before those really existed as a genre!), but it had VERY little to do with actual shadowrun.

Really?  As I recall it had no story mode and no way to play multiplayer on the same console.  I'd love to know if I somehow missed those, because I really wanted to like the game.  Pretty worthless without them.

[Tecumseh]

Small point of clarification, but Microsoft owns the digital rights to Shadowrun. That means that any Shadowrun video game needs Microsoft's blessing. I don't think Topps has any say in the matter.

In 1999, Microsoft bought Virtual World Entertainment Group, of which FASA Interactive was a subsidiary. That's where the digital rights to Shadowrun came from. FASA was a part of Microsoft Studios until 2007, at which point Microsoft shut them down - about three months after Microsoft's Shadowrun game was released - and started licensing out the electronic entertainment rights to others, including Harebrained Schemes (Shadowrun Returns) and Cliffhanger Productions (Shadowrun Chronicles).

Shadowrun Chronicles was a bit more complex because its storyline tied into Boston Lockdown, so it needed to coordinate with Catalyst and get their blessing. But if the game rules and storyline don't touch on anything related to Catalyst, which is the approach that Harebrained Schemes took, then you only need approval from Microsoft.

My impression is that Microsoft is fully willing to license out the video game rights, but that they're not interested in doing anything themselves. So, if you had a developer and a publisher and an investor with deep pockets, then it's game on. If I ever win Powerball maybe this is what I'll do with the proceeds.

[Reaver]

Under the Initiative Passes system past editions used, or the Major/Minor system of SR6, unfortunately real time wouldn't translate well. It's tricky.

City of Heroes tackled this by using a built in cool down sequence that could be changed through enhancements, or the use of powers... Meaning, shooting a gun for a unmodded player might take 2 seconds, however, for a player with a Wired reflex 1 system, it takes 1.75 seconds... and someone with a Wired Refexes 3, shoots every second..

(and that just comes to mind B/C City of heroes is currently Free to play again after being dead for 7 years)

[Mirikon]

Honestly? I'm not sold on the idea of a Shadowrun MMO. I think it would end up not unlike experiences like Champions Online or City of Heroes. I'd rather see them doing single-player games, where they can focus on a rich story with an immersive world, like what Cyberpunk 2077 looks to be doing. I think you could make a truly badass game along the same lines of CP2077 for Shadowrun.

Actually, given the state of the games industry, someone like CD Projekt Red are the only people I would trust to do Shadowrun, and do it well.

[Reaver]

Actually, given the state of the games industry, someone like CD Projekt Red are the only people I would trust to do Shadowrun, and do it well.

Oh come on!

I can see EA doing a great job of it... especially the Nerps.

Get your "Mini Nerps" pack for $4.99
Your "Deluxe Nerps" pack for $14.99
And your "Prime Runner Nerps" Pack for $34.99!!

For all your lootbox Nerps needs, think EA!




EA,
screwing customers without lube since 1991..

[Michael Chandra]

I gave up on all EA games after their servers being down meant that my offline game of Anno 2050 became unplayable (due to the extra bonus-slots being unavailable, which my offline game used for more efficient wind turbines).