Nazmul Roosevelt is a journalist who has spent years covering the video games industry with a focus on clarity, accessibility, and genuine curiosity. He works to help players understand the people, craft, and decisions behind the entertainment they love. From game developers, to the technical artists, and communities shaping modern gaming; if you have a story worth sharing, he’s always open to hearing it… And if you happen to know anything about that secret Twin Peaks game in development, he’d especially like to talk.
PlayStation hasn’t been particularly good at keeping its fanbases happy lately, and now it’s The Last of Us’ community’s turn. After declaring the end of your physical video game collection and giving Hideo Kojima of all people the boot, the crosshairs are on the humble efforts of fans aiming to expand the studio’s long-running post-apocalyptic series into a multiplayer experience.
To get you up to speed, the efforts of fans to implement some form of multiplayer mode to The Last of Us 2’s PC port, started back in January. With regular updates and a tremendous amount of work and development logs shared by talented modder Speclizer. But now, on their Twitter, they’ve revealed that they have made the difficult decision to cease work on the mod just weeks before its planned release.
The Last of Us 2’s Multiplayer Modder Receives Letter “Requesting Mod Not To Be Released”
Speclizer’s relied on Patreon for community funding, with previews and updates for donators
Speclizer shared the announcement on their personal Patreon page, and removed all their modding work from places such as Nexus Mods. “The TLOU 2 Multiplayer mod that has been in development since January was supposed to release this month,” the statement reads. “Unfortunately, I recently received a letter on behalf of Sony Interactive Entertainment requesting the mod not to be released.”
It is likely the Patreon itself that led to PlayStation cracking down on this project and issuing the DMCA. While fan-made mod projects are made all of the time, paid fan projects blur the line between what’s just ‘hobby work’ and something that is impeding and cannibalizing sales of official products.
Alongside Cancellations, The Last Of Us Remains Single-Player For The Unforeseeable Future
Time to boot up The Last Of Us: Remastered’s multiplayer while I can
What’s confusing among all this is that Naughty Dog straight up canceled its multiplayer project back in 2023. The director of that project lamented that the work that went into this game will never see the light of day, so it’s not as if this fan-project is getting in the way of any upcoming live services. In the meantime, Naughty Dog is likely all hands on deck for its pcoming release, the space opera; Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
- Released
-
June 19, 2020
- ESRB
-
M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Engine
-
Proprietary
- Cross-Platform Play
-
no
- Cross Save
-
no
