Naughty Dog May Have Two Multiplayer Games in Development

gamerant.com:

Naughty Dog is hiring for an Associate Multiplayer Quality Assurance Tester/Development Support, according to a recent job listing, but what's interesting is this position would be working on «multiplayer titles,» suggesting more than The Last of Us multiplayer game is in the works. Naughty Dog recently teased more information on a new multiplayer Last of Us game, perhaps similar to the first game's Factions game mode, to come sometime this year. It has not been «officially» announced and has no proper title as of this writing.

Prior to the release of The Last of Us 2, it was slated to come with a multiplayer mode that was ultimately cut. Naughty Dog explained, at the time, that both sides of the project were so ambitious that this multiplayer component couldn't be a simple online mode. Fans have been waiting on an update ever since, but as it stands, it seems they may want to be ready for at least two updates, eventually.

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The Naughty Dog listing for a QA Tester isn't out of the ordinary in terms of responsibilities or goals. Those who apply and are hired will need to be able to identify, log, and maintain gameplay issues; do bug regression testing when applicable; have a working knowledge of the PS4 and PS5 ecosystems; have the ability to accept additional responsibilities, as needed; and more. The listing also states that the QA tester will be bringing a high level of sensibility and attention to detail to the company's «first standalone multiplayer project» but also follows that up by defining the role as «quality assurance/development support with a focus on our multiplayer titles [emphasis added].»

Now, it's entirely possible that this ambiguity is intentional or that this is something