During the Summer Game Fest 2022, Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann revealed a small glimpse of the next project set in the world of The Last of Us. As creative director, Druckmann gave fans some insight into what the next chapter in the series will be, by announcing a full-fledged multiplayer experience with its own storyline separate from the main story.
Upon its release in 2020, The Last of Us 2 promised to deliver a multiplayer game mode soon after the release of the campaign. However, the much-anticipated mode has since been under wraps with only a few comments from the team in 2021 claiming that it was still in development. During his short time on stage, Druckmann explained that Naughty Dog’s ambitions far exceeded what was originally expected and that led to The Last of Us multiplayer being delayed, but also meant it was going to be much more involved than originally planned.
History of The Last of Us Multiplayer
The first rendition of multiplayer in The Last of Us was called Factions. This team-based third-person cover shooter had players choose between two clans, the Fireflies or the Hunters, who were pitted against each other in their attempts to gain supplies and keep their clans healthy. There was no actual difference between the two clans and the entire process acted as a loose plot point to keep the multiplayer connected to the story of the game.
That being said, Factions felt very much like The Last of Us in its combat and crafting. The fast-paced matches along with the different game modes and weapons took all the best beats from the combat of The Last of Us and allowed players to be more aggressive and creative compared to the campaign. Though it was not a standout mode, Factions was able to capture the essence of the main game while also providing players with a competitive multiplayer experience. The announcement of a multiplayer mode for The Last of Us 2 was sure to excite fans of the series who wanted to continue to experience the intense combat after finishing the main story, and this update gives fans even more reason to be excited.
How Story-Driven Multiplayer Suits Naughty Dog
Much like many of Naughty Dog’s other titles, The Last of Us and The Last of Us 2 had a heavy focus on the story and provided players with hours of compelling storytelling throughout each title. Even though the games also feature tense, stealth-based combat, the main focal point has always been the story told between firefights. Games that are solely multiplayer often have a hard time balancing story and gameplay but Naughty Dog’s pedigree and dedication show it can successfully combine the two.
The success of the original Factions’ gameplay would easily translate over to a new game, and clearly Naughty Dog wants to do more than simply add a multiplayer mode as it did with The Last of Us. The concept art shared at the Summer Game Fest showed never-before-seen characters equipped with iconic weapons from the series atop a building watching over a firefight. Though it is not clearly stated if these characters will be the new protagonists, it does show Naughty Dog is willing to part ways with old characters and settings to start a new storyline that could better fit within a multiplayer game.
Naughty Dog expressed how passionate it is about creating a brand-new story that can perfectly be told through a brand new multiplayer experience and will allegedly be just as big and ambitious as its previous single-player games. Fans of the series who were expecting another simple multiplayer mode should be pleasantly surprised to hear how much work and dedication is going into this new stand-alone title set within The Last of Us' universe.
A multiplayer The Last of Us game is currently in development.