The island of Panau is cacophony of chaos with just one Rico Rodriguez. Throw inof Ricos at once, courtesy of the fan-made Just Cause 2 Multiplayer Mod , and it's an eruption of Looney Tunes-style madness on land, sea, and air. After more than 22,000 people signed in to a recent beta weekend for a taste of the insanity, we got in touch with Avalanche Studios founder Christofer Sundberg to find out what the team that built Just Cause 2 thinks of what these ambitious modders have done with the place -- and why they didn't do it first.Big features like multiplayer are not something that a developer just decides to develop and then throw something together. They are huge in complexity, and we don't want to develop something that is just a feature to end up on the back of the box. Developing a multiplayer component must be done right, fit the IP, and make sense financially for the publisher. It's also important to remember that we still have many players -- two years after release -- enjoying the single-player experience in Just Cause 2.That is correct, and that is why you see so many games with forced multiplayer modes that are thrown together just as a desperate move to combat second-hand sales. Bad multiplayer modes have become the new bad movie-based games, and are big black holes where developers waste time and publishers waste money. We've always wanted a multiplayer version and we've always had plenty of ideas of what we would like to do, but in the case of Just Cause 2 we focused on the single-player experience. Again, multiplayer modes are expensive, time-consuming, and complex, and it all has to make sense financially and work for the best of the game.I was thrilled! It is fantastic what the team has done, but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. My view on multiplayer in Just Cause remains: it has to make sense for the IP, and to do a multiplayer version it has to make sense without compromising the core experience of Just Cause, which is a single-player, open-world experience.Even though we would love to help out, it's a quite complex process, considering all the agreements and so on. I know this sounds extremely boring and corporate, but unfortunately that is the sad truth. With that said, we try to support the team any way we can.As a multiplayer mode, I think that is perfect and fits the IP really well. Just Cause is an IP that is very humoristic -- explore the world and interact with it, cause chaos and have a lot of fun without rules or boundaries.The mod team has really proven that multiplayer works well with Just Cause 2, and again we are really thrilled following their progress. I can't really comment on the future of the franchise, but multiplayer done in the same spirit as the JC2MP mod is a great match with the IP.We don't comment on rumors really, but as I've said numerous times before -- there is a strong attachment from Avalanche and from me personally to the Just Cause IP.Ah well, had to ask! Sundberg is still playing his cards close to the vest about a sequel, but with Just Cause 2 now two and a half years old, I expect to hear an announcement about the third instalment -- complete with baked-in multiplayer -- in the not-too-distant future. For now, though, we're in good (and officially endorsed) hands with the Just Cause 2 multiplayer mod. You can keep an eye out for updates on when the next beta test weekend will take place (sadly there will be no test this weekend) via the JC2 multiplayer Twitter . The JC2MP team is currently working on scripting system it will use to create new features and game modes, and invites feedback, so let'em know what you want to see!The time I spent in the JC2MP beta was surreal -- like a world where thousands of stunt men got high on mushrooms and decided to wreck an airport. Planes and parachuting lunatics fell from the sky like chaotic snowflakes. Right now it's more a crazy, glitchy science experiment than a game, but the potential for goofiness is astonishing! Have you tried it out? Share your stories in the comments.