The long-awaited Last of Us Part 2 multiplayer mod won’t be releasing this month after all, or ever, apparently, per Sony’s request
The Last of Us Part 2 multiplayer mod, created by YouTuber Speclizer, began development at the start of this year, at which point the modder wasn’t sure “if this will turn out to be anything.” Its first test was “very broken,” but from the beginning, the potential was clear – this could be the fan-made answer to the Factions mode that was never added to Part 2, and Naughty Dog’s canceled The Last of Us Online.
But alas, after hitting a “major milestone” in July, with 4v4 matches added ahead of its planned launch this month, it turns out that fans won’t be able to get their hands on the mod after all. “Hey everyone, as you all know, the TLOU 2 Multiplayer mod that has been in development since January was supposed to release this month. Unfortunately I recently received a letter on behalf of Sony Interactive Entertainment requesting for the mod not to be released,” Speclizer writes in a new statement.
“Extremely sad that this never got to see the light of day but I hope you’ll continue to follow me onto the next project, this time something of my own,” the modder continues. “Thank you all for the incredible amount of support over the last year. I hope to bring you something bigger and better soon!”
It’s disappointing news, especially since the mod could have helped fill a gap that the developer Naughty Dog wasn’t able to. The Last of Us Online was canceled in late 2023, and since then, we’ve heard a lot of positive things about it, which makes the loss even more painful. Former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida thought the game was “great,” and its director, Vinit Agarwal, recently stated that many devs who worked on it thought it was “the best multiplayer game they’ve ever played.”