The Last of Us Part 2 won't have any multiplayer modes

Now that we finally have a release date for The Last of Us Part 2, it's time for Sony and Naughty Dog to begin dishing more details. The two companies have done just that, but unfortunately, the news isn't all good for folks who were a fan of the first game's multiplayer modes. It turns out that The Last of Us Part 2 will be a solo game in every regard, as there won't be any multiplayer to speak of.The Last of Us Part 2 co-director Anthony Newman confirmed as much speaking to Polygon. Interestingly enough, it was Newman who teasing a multiplayer mode for The Last of Us Part 2 at E3 in 2018, but it seems that development priorities shifted away from multiplayer as time went on.

"Multiplayer will not be included with The Last of Us Part 2," Newman told Polygon. "I know we had kind of announced that [it would have multiplayer], but as the game has developed, it's become so ambitious, so grand in scope, and so intricate in its complexity, that it really required the full focus of the studio to deliver this single-player experience."

Still, while this is probably disappointing to some, you won't find many people who will argue with multiplayer being cut in favor of bolstering the single-player component. It's always possible that Naughty Dog will decide to add multiplayer at some point after the game ships too, but for now, the focus will be on the game's single-player narrative.

During the latest PlayStation State of Play earlier this week, The Last of Us Part 2 was given a release date of February 21st, 2020. It's definitely the most anticipated game on the horizon for the PlayStation 4, so expect to hear plenty more about it in the months to come.