The Last of Us Part 2 is Single-Player Only, But Factions Still Lives

Update: 9/27/19: Naughty Dog issued a statement on Twitter regarding the absence of multiplayer from The Last of Us Part 2. The developed stressed the scope of the project and its commitment to the game’s single-player campaign. 

They continued by saying that a multiplayer mode was intended for TLoU 2, but the team ultimately decided to leave it out. However, the developer did say that it intends to release that multiplayer mode as a standalone experience at some undetermined time in the future. 

Naughty Dog did not specify if the mode would be a stand-alone TLoU experience or something else. The developer’s full statement can be seen below: 

Original Story:

Initially, it was thought that The Last of Us Part 2 would have multiplayer elements. However, Sony has officially confirmed the game will be single-player only.

Speaking with USgamer’s Caty McCarthy during a recent hands-on event for the game, Emilia Schatz, the game’s lead designer, said the game would not have multiplayer.

However, Sony followed that statement, saying that the developers wanted to create a robust single-player experience for the game. That’s what they were focused on.

Indeed, that left the door slightly open for some kind of multiplayer experience. McCarthy, however, confirmed with Sony via email that the game is strictly single-player.

The news comes as a bit of a surprise for some. At E3 2018, the game’s directors said The Last of Us Part 2 would receive a similar multiplayer mode as the original game.

The Last of Us had a robust multiplayer component. It featured factions and team play. It also offered a transmedia experience that linked players’ social media accounts and more often kept their in-game experiences in front of them.

It’s a shame we won’t see something similar for the sequel. But it doesn’t change the fact that, based on The Last of Us Part 2‘s new trailer, it looks pretty damn good as just a single-player game.

See more footage and analysis in this gameplay roundup. 

The Last of Us Part 2 is set to release for the PlayStation 4 on February 21, 2020.