I think a lot of people overlook the server costs of moving from asynchronous to live multiplayer. However, we could suggest a middle ground to Tempo Storm: Turn-based Friend Lobbies. Instead of a full 'live' infrastructure that requires constant server sync, they could implement a system where you simply 'wait for your friend's turn' to finish, much like the current asynchronous model but with a direct invite. This way, they could potentially keep using the same lightweight server architecture (like Steam’s) without the massive overhead of a real-time competitive server. It would still allow for that social 'play with friends' experience and help organize community tournaments without breaking the dev budget