Fans have known for a long time that The Last of Us 2 would be receiving a multiplayer mode at some point, but Naughty Dog has not given really any updates on its development. That said, a new job listing by the studio suggests that The Last of Us 2's multiplayer will feature AI bots as opponents.
While the original The Last of Us provides arguably one of the greatest single-player experiences ever made, its multiplayer mode, Factions, was also quite well-received. In Factions, players align themselves as either a Firefly or a Hunter, and participate in brutal elimination and objective based matches, the winners receiving supplies to help their allied faction survive. Notably, The Last of Us 2 did not ship with multiplayer of any kind, but was confirmed to be in development as a standalone game by Neil Druckmann, the President of Naughty Dog, during last year's Outbreak Day celebration. Since then, there has been little concrete information provided about the upcoming mode.
A new job listing at Naughty Dog points towards The Last of Us 2's multiplayer mode having AI bots. This listing is for an "AI Programmer" and starts with a description of Part 2's accolades before specifying the project: "Embark on Naughty Dog's newest adventure—the studio's first standalone multiplayer game!" In the next paragraph, Naughty Dog states its intentions, writing, "We are looking for programmers focused on developing and iterating on AI systems to bring Naughty Dog games to life." Despite the silence surrounding The Last of Us: Part 2's multiplayer, the wording of this job posting implies this job is for this project.
In the second part of the listing, Naughty Dog breaks down the responsibilities of this job, both of which are pretty straightforward. The responsibilities are: "architect and implement AI systems such as navigation, decision making, knowledge and dialog," and "work closely with the Design and Animation teams to bring ideas and new gameplay features into the game." As denoted by the first statement, this job is specifically for the programming of in-game AIs, such that they can traverse environments, make real time reactions and decisions, and perhaps communicate information to or against the player. There is a suggestion, then, that not only will there be enemy bots in The Last of Us: Part 2's standalone multiplayer, but possibly friendly ones as well.
While this job listing is encouraging, there is still too many uncertainties to start getting one's hope up just yet. As mentioned, while Naughty Dog has subtlely confirmed Part 2's multiplayer to be happening, the lack of any true, formal announcement or media makes one think that this project may still be a ways away. Nonetheless, the presence of bots likely means that it won't be just multiplayer solely, but that there could be offline modes like a horde mode as seen in Uncharted 4's survival mode. However, that's just speculation at this time.
The Last of Us 2 is available on PS4.