A job listing for an economy designer on Naughty Dog’s website suggests that The Last of Us 2’s upcoming standalone multiplayer mode, Factions, is well on the way. According to the listing, the team is looking for “a passionate multiplayer economy designer who can help us create avenues for self-expression for our players, ensure robust longevity to our games, and give our players great rewards to strive for,”.
Assuming the developer isn’t working on an independent multiplayer title, the fact that they’re hiring suggests that they are planning for Factions to have a lengthy and robust lifespan and economy, which is good news for fans of the franchise.
We haven’t seen much from Factions yet, save for the gameplay footage that accidentally leaked mid-last year. In this since-deleted footage, we got a decent look at the PvP expansion via combat between two players; one with a knife and the other with a bow. The video was only 11 seconds long and unfortunately obscured but it was still an exciting look into the potential for the new production.
At this stage, it’s unclear when The Last of Us II: Factions will be releasing and whether it will be an independent download or patched into the existing TLOUII footprint but we’ll be sure to keep you updated as we learn more.