Naughty Dog Seems to Be Hiring for a Multiplayer Project

Some recent job listings imply that Naughty Dog is hiring for an upcoming multiplayer project, which may or may not be linked to The Last of Us Part II.

Not long ago, The Last of Us Part II developer Naughty Dog explained that their upcoming game will be a solely single-player experience and will not feature a multiplayer mode. This announcement disappointed many fans who enjoyed the Factions multiplayer mode from the first The Last of Us. However, some recent job listings may provide a bit of hope.

Naughty Dog recently added a new job listing for an online systems programmer role to their career page. Part of the job description states that whoever gets the position will be working on “server technologies, core game networking, matchmaking, player data storage, and virtual store transactions.”

These details seem to imply that Naughty Dog is working on a multiplayer project after all. This evidence is further backed up by another job listing, this time for a multiplayer gameplay programmer.

This multiplayer project may not connect to the Last of Us world. Naughty Dog has confirmed The Last of Us Part II will not receive a multiplayer mode. However, Bruce Straley, ex-Naughty Dog employee and game director of the first The Last of Us, revealed in a series of Tweets the company is working on an “ambitious” multiplayer project. We do not have any further details.

Because Straley no longer works at Naughty Dog, this is not a solid confirmation. Furthermore, it is not confirmation that whatever multiplayer project Naughty Dog is working on will be related to The Last of Us Part II at all.