Some newly surfaced evidence suggests that Naughty Dog's next big game is now entering its final stretch of development. The title in question is most likely the yet-to-be-unveiled The Last of Us multiplayer spinoff that's been in the works for well over half a decade at this point.
Much like its predecessor, The Last of Us 2 was initially intended to feature a multiplayer mode. Those plans were dropped circa 2019, when Naughty Dog noted that the mode was spun off into a standalone title which is planned to release at a later date. Three years later, the studio confirmed that The Last of Us multiplayer spinoff is still in the works, but has revealed precious little about the project ever since. Many fans expected to finally see the game at this week's PlayStation Showcase, but that didn't come to pass.
Nevertheless, Naughty Dog's next big game appears to be nearing the end of development, as suggested by the company's recent job market activity. More specifically, the Sony-owned studio started advertising a multitude of temporary openings for localization quality assurance testers on May 25. The nature of these roles implies the bulk of the localization work on the upcoming title is already over, as there wouldn't be anything to test otherwise. This newly unearthed job ad dovetails with another recent posting which suggested Naughty Dog's preparing an announcement trailer for its next game back in late March.
The listing is also soliciting applications from candidates with a "working knowledge" of both the PS4 and PS5, implying Naughty Dog's upcoming title will be a cross-gen release. While the studio has yet to officially reveal the project and clarify its target platforms, this isn't the first indicator that The Last of Us multiplayer game is coming to the PS4, in addition to Sony's latest console.
The game's omission from the latest PlayStation Showcase came as an unpleasant surprise to some fans. Given how Naughty Dog repeatedly said that more information about The Last of Us multiplayer spinoff is coming in 2023, many felt that the May 24 broadcast was a perfect opportunity for the title to finally be unveiled. The two-year gap since the last PlayStation Showcase made the lack of Naughty Dog announcements at the event even more surprising.
While another PlayStation Showcase seems unlikely to happen this year, Sony has to fit the unveiling of The Last of Us multiplayer spinoff somewhere soon, assuming the project hasn't suffered any major delays in the last 12 months. A near-future reveal might very well happen, as multiple industry insiders recently insisted that Sony has been holding back with the PlayStation Showcase for some reason.
The Last of Us multiplayer game is currently in development.