The PvP mod that promised to finally give The Last of Us Part 2 the multiplayer component Naughty Dog never shipped has been killed off, and the decision came straight from Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Speclizer, the modder behind it, had been working on the PC project since January, with a launch pencilled in for this month. Then a letter arrived.
“Hey everyone, as you all know, the TLOU 2 Multiplayer mod that has been in development since January was supposed to [be released] this month,” Speclizer said in a post on social media. “Unfortunately I recently received a letter on behalf of Sony Interactive Entertainment requesting for the mod not to be released. 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 project was hardly a secret
In June, Speclizer put out a 25-minute gameplay showcase, noting at the time that development had kicked off in January 2026 and that the mod was aimed at a release this month.
Development was also backed by a Patreon. Once money starts moving around a mod built on top of somebody else’s game, it rarely escapes a publisher’s attention for long.
The multiplayer that never arrives
Anyone still hoping for a competitive take on Last of Us has now watched a second door slam shut. Naughty Dog itself abandoned its official multiplayer title set in the series’ universe back in late 2023.
The explanation the studio gave then was that releasing it as intended would have forced the team to funnel everything it had into years of post-launch content, gutting its capacity to build future single-player titles.
What makes it sting is what the handful of people who actually got hands on it have said in the years since.
Those who played it still bring it up
Shuhei Yoshida, formerly an executive at Sony Interactive Entertainment, has said he played The Last of Us Online and found it “great.”
Vinit Agarwal, the game’s director, says ex-colleagues still reach out to him about it, messaging to tell him it was “the best multiplayer game they’ve ever played.”
Nobody beyond those rooms is ever going to know for sure. Speclizer’s take was as close as the public was ever likely to get, and all that survives of it is 25 minutes of footage and a Patreon that’s been shut down.