The leaks just keep coming from Naughty Dog.
In the wake of the commercial success and mixed reviews for The Last of Us Part 2, it has been no secret that Naughty Dog has been hard at work developing a multiplayer component for the franchise.
Now, it seems as though a leaked video may have been our first look at this new arena for the world of The Last of Us.
The video showed only a few seconds of multiplayer gameplay. It somewhat resembled the “Factions” mode from the first The Last of Us game, which released back in 2013.
At first, the validity of this supposed leak was called into question. Then, the video was quickly shot down by a copyright claim from Sony, which should be more than enough proof that what we saw was the real deal.
We saw an in-progress battle in the footage. A player finds cover behind a tree and then a vehicle to craft and item. They’re interrupted by a melee attack. The attacker is then taken down by a bow and arrow, shot by another player.
The footage also featured a square mini-map. The original Factions mode from The Last of Us had a circular map.
Back in September, Neil Druckmann, the director of The Last of Us: Part 2, had said that the game would have no multiplayer content. He said this was so that they could take all of the resources available to “make this the biggest game we’ve ever done.”
Shortly thereafter, Naughty Dog posted an official statement promising multiplayer in the future that would not be a part of The Last of Us: Part 2.
“We wanted to address the multiplayer in The Last of Us: Part 2,” the statement said. “As we’ve stated, the single player campaign is far and away the most ambitious project Naughty Dog has ever undertaken. Likewise, as development began on the evolution of our Factions mode from The Last of Us: Part 1, the vision of the team grew beyond an additional mode that could be included with our enormous single player campaign. Wanting to support both visions, we made the difficult choice that The Last of Us: Part 2 would not include an online mode. However, you will eventually experience the fruits of our team’s online ambition, but not as a part of The Last of Us: Part 2. When and where it will be realized is still to be determined. But rest assured, we are as big a fan of Factions as the rest of our community and are excited to share more when it’s ready.”
What’s truly interesting about this story is yet another leak coming out of Naughty Dog. The Last of Us: Part 2 suffered massive spoiler leaks prior to its release, which Sony claimed was the work of a hacking group and not any kind of disgruntled Naughty Dog employee.