It’ll plug in to existing game engines, starting with Unity, and should launch in early 2020. Alpha and beta tests are slated for later in 2019.

This is an ambitious concept, and there aren’t guarantees it will work as well as planned. Coherence’s pedigree might give it a fighting chance, mind you. Company chief Dino Patti co-founded Limbo developer Playdead and Somerville studio Jumpship, while the CTO is Peter Björklund, billed as the “main creative” behind the networking for DICE’s Frostbite game engine. Unity co-founder David Helgason is also serving as an advisor. Coherence might have the skills to pull this off — if it does, it’s good news for anyone who wants more social gaming experiences.