Officialized as a game in its own right, little information has been released so far about the stand-alone multiplayer The Last of Us. However, some Naughty Dog job postings give us some clues…
Only four months ago Neil Druckman in person formalized the multiplayer stand-alone taken from The Last of Us. At the same time, he confirmed the narrative dimension of this online game, without really revealing more.
As such, job postings are often one of the best ways to learn about this project. In fact, it was through this that at the beginning of the year we discovered that it could contain microtransactions. However, this process lets us easily imagine the form that this multiplayer game could take.
A stand-alone “free” multiplayer?
If the micropayments are becoming more widespread in video game productions, they bring a specific typology to life. If you are a fan of games onlinethen you know that free-to-play online multiplayer games make the most of those low-value purchases.
Exactly, a new job offer at Naughty Dog goes into clarifying this idea. In fact, the Dogs are currently recruiting for a game production station in continuous operation (LiveOps), or a title that aims to update itself over time.
Firstly, this announcement confirms that the stand-alone in preparation will be subject to update over time. In this sense, we understand that it is intended to last over the long term by offering new content regularly.
What really tweaks us about the free title is not specified in the job responsibilities, but in the “bonus” skills. In fact, you will find that attesting to a previous experience in the production of a game “ free-to-play (playable for free), is a plus.
However, the form that the final project will take has not not yet made official. Based on this information, we can therefore only issue the possibility that this stand-alone multiplayer is accessible in free-to-play.
What’s more, if we look back, it seems that this project has somewhat evolved over time.
A multiplayer that takes time to clarify
A fan-awaited mode
When a new iteration The Last of Us was announced, some of the fans had only one question in mind: the faction modei.e. the multiplayer of the first opuswould he be back in this sequel?
They had their answer almost a year before its release: no, The Last of Us Part II would not contain no multiplayer. However, at the beginning of 2019, a job offer evoked a multiplayer dimension…
Nevertheless, Naughty Dog did not hesitate to speak again in the process to clarify this information: although TLOU2 does not contain a multiplayer mode, the latter would be offered separately. Since then, the project seems to have evolved well.
Leaks that sow doubt
In fact, in 2020, leaks revealed a preview close to the original Factions mode. But it wasn’t until the following year that Naughty Dog formalized work on a stand-alone multiplayerwithout specifying the license.
Of course, there was no doubt that this concerned The Last of Us. What’s more, in the summer of 2021, data miners revealed assets multi implemented in The Last of Us Part II.
That year, the studio took advantage of the The Last of Us Day 2021 to confirm that he was working on a multiplayer game, thus making the link to its post-apocalyptic license.
Since 2022, official and unofficial information is finally beginning to jostle about the project. In fact, skins dedicated were found in TLOU2 again. From then on, it was rumored that this mode online either finally integrated into The Last of Us Part I – the output of this remake from the first opus last September will have been enough to invalidate these statements.
Until the end, some will therefore have hoped to find a dimension online attached to a solo title. However, the Dogs have been clear since 2020. All we have to do today is wait.
We hope to see new announcements soon. Until then, follow Naughty Dog Mag’ on Twitter, instagram, Facebook and Discord so you don’t miss any information!