It's almost exactly a year to the day since The Last of Us 2 was released to a somewhat mixed, albeit overall positive reception. Some of the game's narrative choices were the cause of a lot of division among the fanbase, but the experience left many wanting even more The Last of Us content. However, fans only experienced the singleplayer story, as The Last of Us 2 launched without a multiplayer mode. This mode was instead delayed to be released further down the line, but many months on, fans are yet to receive even a trailer.
While The Last of Us is, and always will be, a predominantly singleplayer series, the original game's Factions mode proved to be a hit with hardcore fans. Factions may not have been the first thing that came to The Last of Us fans' minds when a sequel was announced, but it would be welcomed with open arms nonetheless. However, with a release date still unknown, and rumors of Naughty Dog potentially moving on from The Last of Us to a new IP in Stray's Cross, the silence surrounding the new Factions mode is concerning.
What Is Known About The Last of Us 2's Factions?
In The Last of Us, Factions allows players to pick from two clans, the Hunters or the Fireflies. These clans then battle it out against one another in teams of 12, playing one of three modes: Supply Raid, Survivors, or Interrogation. What makes Factions a unique mode is that a number of singleplayer elements are present, despite the multiplayer setting. Resource scarcity and realistic, non-regenerating health ensure the desperation of The Last of Us gameplay is kept intact for the mode. This makes for quite a unique experience and explains why the mode has such a devoted following.
Without a trailer or real announcement, there's little information to go off when imagining what The Last of Us 2's Factions could look like. It has been rumored that when Factions launches, it will be a standalone game rather than an addition to The Last of Us 2, which gives fans room to speculate that it could be a more fleshed-out experience. Whether an addition to the original game or a standalone game, The Last of Us 2 players have been reassured on numerous occasions that the multiplayer is on its way, which is great news for fans.
Recent Last of Us 2 Faction Updates
Despite Naughty Dog's silence about its Factions game mode, recent Naughty Dog job postings have hinted at the fact that the development of factions may be ramping up. The job postings were aimed at a couple of different professions concerning a new standalone multiplayer game, which adds further fuel to the fire of Factions being its own game. Naughty Dog is also hiring temporary video editors to work on trailers, suggesting the announcement of something is fast approaching. Whether this will be for Factions or something else is still very much a mystery.
Aside from job postings, fans have also in the past received hints that the Factions mode is further along than the silence would suggest. Last year, leaked Factions gameplay footage emerged which appeared to show the game in working order. This had fans very excited at the time, anticipating an upcoming release. However, almost 10 months later, that's still the closest fans have gotten to a reveal. This leaves the glaring question of why fans are having to hunt for job postings to uncover information about Factions. If the game's release is around the corner then it's great news, but the radio silence is worrying.
Have Naughty Dog's Priorities Changed?
One of the more worrying prospects from a Factions fan's perspective is the idea that Naughty Dog may have changed priorities. Since the launch of the PlayStation 5, Naughty Dog had been working on upgrading The Last of Us 2 for the next generation. This upgrade, which allows players to choose between 30 and 60 FPS alongside graphical improvements, released in May this year.
That being said, very little info regarding The Last of Us 2's Factions has been leaked since then. Instead, rumors surrounding a remake of The Last of Us have been circulating, although fans will be hopeful that this is lower down on Naughty Dog's agenda. If The Last of Us Remake is to be announced before Factions, it would surely not bode well for the highly requested multiplayer mode.
Another rumored upcoming Naughty Dog project is Stray's Cross an all-new AAA sci-fi title. However, this project is unlikely to impact the development of the Factions mode as this singleplayer project will most likely be worked on by a different team. Nevertheless, the relative silence surrounding Factions when compared to even Stray's Cross is concerning for fans of the game mode. The fact that Factions has received less info than other Naughty Dog projects could suggest the game is some way off.
If Factions is to be announced this year it will likely be in the build-up to, or on The Last of Us day, which falls on September 26. The identity of the standalone multiplayer project Naughty Dog is working on could either make or break The Last of Us 2 fan's hopes of a Factions mode. Last year Neil Druckman said Factions would be worth waiting for, which reassured fans at the time and suggested the unconfirmed project would be a Factions equivalent. But with no official confirmation, fans are growing anxious waiting for any news from Naughty Dog.
The Last of Us 2Â is available now on PS4.
