In an interview with Shacknews, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars Executive Producer Kevin Cloud revealed reasons for why the upcoming console versions will only support 16 players, as opposed to 24-player support like the PC version. The main reasons are bandwidth concerns, the cost of running dedicated servers, and latency issues. Nonetheless, even with only 16 players online, Cloud said, "Gameplay is still fun in eight versus eight, because of the focused objectives."
Xbox Live supports dedicated servers, but the possibility of cheaters increases drastically in that case. The cost of running your own server on Xbox Live or facing cheaters may not be worth it in the end. As for Sony and the PS3, Resistance: Fall of Man allows for dedicated servers with a much higher player population (up to 40+) and encounter much less latency. Other upcoming PS3 games, namely Warhawk, will allow players to host their own dedicated servers.
Cloud also stated that Quake Wars will focus on player skills, as unlockable weapons and abilities will only be per individual or team — as opposed to being available for the whole team. According to Cloud, this factor will separate Quake Wars from its competitors. The PC version is slated for "when it’s done" (from now until March 2008) and the console version will follow through after. A simultaneous release is not planned at this time.
