A recent job listing suggests that Naughty Dog may be looking to bring The Last of Us multiplayer game to last-gen consoles alongside the PS5. The franchise has grown in immense popularity over the past couple of months thanks to the hit HBO series, with new fans embracing Naughty Dog's IP in numbers. As many look to the future of The Last of Us, the developer's most recent update may offer a glimpse of what to expect.

Since airing its debut episode on HBO Max, The Last of Us show found mainstream appeal among gamers and non-gamers alike. Now, with its second season underway, the show's success has already prompted questions on some of the other highly-anticipated video game adaptations such as Amazon's upcoming God of War series. This rising popularity of The Last of Us has also led to a renewed interest among long-time fans of the games, with many curious about what the developer has in store for the IP. With a multiplayer game currently looking to be Naughty Dog's next big project, one post on its website may come as welcome news for those who have been waiting for an update.

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The company's most recent job listing for an "Associate Multiplayer Quality Assurance Tester" indicates that Naughty dog is expanding its Quality Assurance team. Interestingly, among the requirements and skills, the vacancy specifies a "working knowledge of PS4 and PS5 systems." While the post doesn't explicitly single out The Last of Us multiplayer game, the specific mention of PS4 for the multiplayer role hints that the Tester would be working on a project that is coming sooner rather than later, as it is hard to imagine Naughty Dog releasing a cross-gen game later in the console generation. Further, the fact that Naughty Dog has already teased The Last of Us multiplayer makes for a strong argument that this may in fact be related to the ongoing project. In any case, the prospect of an upcoming multiplayer game from Naughty Dog is bound to entice fans.

Naughty Dog multiplayer QA Tester

It should be noted that this is far from the only indication that the developer is hard at work on its multiplayer project. In fact, a vacancy for a QA Tester back in February suggested that Naughty Dog may be working on at least two multiplayer games. However, the company has not yet made any official statement regarding an unannounced multiplayer project, as only its plans with The Last of Us are known.

Naughty Dog's recent venture into multiplayer is not a suprise given Sony's strategy of diving more into live-service titles. While Sony has emphasized that narrative-driven stories will continue to be a part of its portfolio, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan believes that live-service titles will eventually overtake subscription services. As of now, Sony aims to release 10 live-service games by 2026, with this Last of Us project likely being among them. Either way, it will be interesting to see how the franchise unfolds as it embraces live-service gaming.

The Last of Us multiplayer game is in development.

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