A planned player-versus-player multiplayer mod for The Last of Us Part 2 on PC has been canceled following direct contact from Sony Interactive Entertainment. The modder responsible for the project, known as Speclizer, stated on social media that they were asked not to release the mod to the public.
Speclizer announced the cancellation, expressing sadness that the multiplayer mod would not see release after its development began in January. The project had previously shown 25 minutes of gameplay in June and was expected to launch this month. The mod's development reportedly included a payment component via Patreon.
This news may be disappointing for fans of The Last of Us multiplayer, especially after Naughty Dog officially canceled its own ambitious multiplayer project, The Last of Us Online, in late 2023. At the time of the cancellation, Naughty Dog cited the need to dedicate extensive resources to post-launch content, which would have impacted their ability to develop future single-player titles. Former Sony executive Shuhei Yoshida has previously shared that he played The Last of Us Online and found it to be "great," while the game's director, Vinit Agarwal, has noted that former colleagues still communicate how exceptional the unreleased game was.