Having an offline mode to play with AI wouldn't hurt anyone who owns the game and has an internet connection all the time so I don't see why a certain group is against it. It's such a shame to see people against something just because it's something that wouldn't benefit them. It doesn't hurt them either so I don't see what the issue is.
This wouldn't really affect me because I probably would have my internet connection (hopefully) on even if I'm playing bots but I can see how it benefits a lot of people. I would assume the internet connection is just to tie this mode to the game's progression system (and possibly have some achievements around it) and to prevent users from using a cracked version of the game and play vs AIs for free (though I'm not sure if it actually deters them)
