Lead game designer Emilia Schatz recently revealed that
The Last of Us Part II will not include an online multiplayer mode. The developer said that Naughty Dog are simply too caught up with the single-player mode to do justice to multiplayer, so it's been left out entirely.
Following the divided reaction to this news,
Naughty Dog released an official statement on Twitter in regards to
The Last of Us Part II having no multiplayer moder. The studio reiterated what Schatz had already explained, that their focus is on
the massive and ambitious single-player mode, before teasing that we have by no means seen the last of Factions.
Many have taken the latter portion of Naughty Dog's statement to mean that Factions will be released as its own seperate thing after the launch of
The Last of Us Part II. However, there are a couple of other eventualities that it could be in reference to, namely it multiplayer will simply be added to
The Last of Us Part II at a later date.
There's also the less opportune interpretation that we'll have to wait until
The Last of Us Part III to see the return of Factions. We can only keep our fingers crossed that isn't the case.
Five years after their dangerous journey across the post-pandemic United States, Ellie and Joel have settled down in Jackson, Wyoming. Living amongst a thriving community of survivors has allowed them peace and stability, despite the constant threat of the infected and other, more desperate survivors. When a violent event disrupts that peace, Ellie embarks on a relentless journey to carry out justice and find closure. As she hunts those responsible one by one, she is confronted with the devastating physical and emotional repercussions of her actions.
The Last of Us Part II will release exclusively for the PlayStation 4 on the February 21st, 2020.