Slender Man's Unreal Engine 5 revival is adding what fans have wanted for 10 years: multiplayer

Slender: The Arrival's 10-year anniversary Unreal Engine 5 overhaul is turning out to be a lot bigger than I originally expected, just now revealing the one feature fans have wanted most since the original game launched back in 2013: co-op.

The fact that Blue Isle Studios just revealed a post-launch roadmap for Slender: The Arrival should tell you a little bit about just how ambitious this revival project really is. We've known since the initial announcement that it's a "huge update" built in Unreal Engine 5 (check out the new visuals in the below tweet) but now we're learning a lot more about what that actually entails.

Not only is co-op multiplayer officially confirmed for Slender: The Arrival's roadmap, but we also know now that cross-platform mod support is on the way too.

"Create single or multiplayer experiences and online scenarios using the same tools featured in the 10th Anniversary update including AI, environment art, sound effects and most everything used by Blue Isle Studios designers," reads the press release from Blue Isle. "Create new stories and experiences to the current mythos of Slender and share your nightmarish creations with other players."

Finally, we're now learning Slender Man's big comeback will also include a bunch of brand new new content including three original chapters, new areas of the map and even all new characters. More and more this is sounding like an expansion of the 2013 cult classic indie horror and less like a basic remaster. That said, everything included in the roadmap won't be available right at launch; the co-op mode, modding kit, and DLC are expected sometime in Q2 2024.

The new Slender: The Arrival launches October 18 for PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Find out where the original Slender Man game ranked on our list of the best horror games ever made.