In light of its community celebration, The Last Of Us Day 2021, acclaimed developer Naughty Dog confirmed it is still developing its standalone multiplayer spin-off of The Last of Us. The developer was additionally planning to develop a multiplayer mode for The Last of Us Part II, but set it to the side in 2019 in order to focus on the ambitious campaign offshoot. Naughty Dog promised it would bring back the multiplayer mode after it shipped the main game, meaning a team has been working on it since the summer of 2020.
Still, Naughty Dog has been very quiet about what the new standalone multiplayer game will be like. Various job listings have suggested the TLoU multiplayer spin-off is Naughty Dog's next game. Some of the job listings also noted there will be an in-game economy, indicating there could be an open-world or hub world in which to explore and make purchases. Still, Naughty Dog hasn't explicitly noted these jobs are for The Last of Us' spin-off, leading some fans to worry about its status.
The developer broke its silence in a blog post to celebrate this year's The Last of Us Day. The post doesn't appear to have too many juicy details, but Naughty Dog is still knee-deep into the project. The developer also seemed to suggest that many of the multiplayer-related job postings are related to the untitled The Last of Us spin-off. Fans were a bit disappointed that The Last of Us Day didn't have substantial news regarding the upcoming game, but at least Naughty Dog knows fans are chomping at the bit to hear more.
In short, we’re working on it - we see the community comments as many of you clamor for multiplayer and want updates. For now, we’ll say that we love what the team is developing and want to give them time to build out their ambitious project, we’ll reveal more when it’s ready! To that end, we’ve been busy growing our team inside the kennel since The Last of Us Part II launched and are currently in full swing of hiring for MP-related positions (hint hint), so if you or somebody you know qualifies for anything you see on our jobs page, apply!
As of right now, there's no word on when The Last of Us' multiplayer game will launch. It seems to be very early days still, and the project is rather ambitious - so, this may not be as quick of a turnaround as some fans might've expected. Either way, it sounds like it'll at least be a rather meaty addition to the world of The Last of Us.
Additionally, Naughty Dog is currently working on other games, but there isn't information as to what they may be. The developer previously said it has an outline for the story of The Last of Us 3, but isn't currently working on it right now. It was also reported that a remake of The Last of Us is in development for the PlayStation 5, which could be the studio's primary focus. Given Naughty Dog tends to take its time, it may be a while before fans see the next proper full-scale game from the studio.
Source: Naughty Dog