The Last of Us Part 2 multiplayer launching as a stand-alone game

The Last of Us Part 2’s previously announced multiplayer component will launch as a stand-alone game, Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann announced during Summer Game Fest on Thursday.

Druckmann said Naughty Dog wasn’t ready to reveal much about the game so far, but he did have a piece of concept art to share, showing two characters overlooking an apocalyptic city. Druckmann did say that the stand-alone multiplayer game will be as big as the developer’s single-player games, “and in some ways bigger.”

“It’s got a story. The way we’re telling the story is very unique to this game,” Druckmann said. “It has a brand-new cast of characters. It takes place in another part of the United States.”

No release date was given, but Druckmann said more information will come next year.

The Last of Us Part 2 was originally announced with a multiplayer component, like the first game. Somewhere along the way, things changed: In 2019, Naughty Dog confirmed that multiplayer wasn’t coming.