There have been talks in the past of whether or not The Last of Us Part II will have a multiplayer feature, but it’s now been confirmed that it definitely won’t. The Factions multiplayer mode which was found in The Last of Us won’t be returning in the sequel according to Naughty Dog and Sony who confirmed that information with USgamer. This new information comes after the release of a long-awaited trailer for the game, a release date, and a media event which offered hands-on opportunities.
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Speaking to USgamer, Naughty Dog’s lead game designer Emilia Schatz confirmed that there wouldn’t be a multiplayer component in the game. The designer said the developer was focused solely on a single-player experience this time around.
“We’re focusing on a single-player experience, so we’re just making a single-player game for this,” Schatz told the outlet.
Sony also confirmed this information with USgamer and said the game would not have a multiplayer mode.
The move away from a multiplayer component in The Last of Us II conflicts with reports from last year which suggested that it would be brought back. Back in June 2019, shortly after the game made its huge appearance at E3, co-director Anthony Newman told GameSpot the multiplayer mode would make a return. Co-director Kurt Margenau reiterated these comments in the same interview at the time by saying “we can confirm there will be multiplayer.”
Newman addressed these past confirmations in a recent interview with Polygon and said the game’s growth required the full attention of the studio to be place on the single-player aspect of the game.
“Multiplayer will not be included with The Last of Us Part 2,” Newman told Polygon. “I know we had kind of announced that [it would have multiplayer], but as the game has developed, it’s become so ambitious, so grand in scope, and so intricate in its complexity, that it really required the full focus of the studio to deliver this single-player experience.”
The news that the second game won’t have multiplayer may not be a big deal to some who are only in it for the story, but those who enjoyed the Factions mode may be a bit let down after assuming it’d return. While other single-player games sometimes work in a so-so multiplayer mode, the mode in The Last of Us was praised by its players.
The Las of Us Part II is scheduled to release for the PlayStation 4 on February 21, 2020.
