New The Last of Us Release Gets Shut Down by PlayStation
A new release tied to The Last of Us has been shut down by PlayStation before its arrival. Outside of HBO’s The Last of Us TV series, nothing is currently known to be in the works when it comes to the beloved Naughty Dog property. Despite this, fans of the franchise continue to long for new content tied to the series, which has led to some developing their own projects. Sadly, one of the most exciting fan-made creations associated with The Last of Us that has been in the works throughout 2026 has been locked away before it could ever become widely available.
In a recent post on social media, a modder by the name of Speclizer shared that their upcoming multiplayer mod for The Last of Us Part 2 has now been blocked from release by PlayStation. While The Last of Us Part 2 was originally supposed to feature a multiplayer mode when it arrived in 2020, Naughty Dog instead opted to expand this PvP aspect of the game in a standalone release. Unfortunately, this game, which became known as The Last of Us Online, was eventually canceled in late 2023, leaving a major void for fans.
To make up for this, Speclizer took it upon themselves to create a multiplayer mode within the PC version of The Last of Us Part 2 that would allow players to be able to engage in some form of PvP. And while this mod was planned to launch in September, PlayStation is said to have recently contacted Speclizer and requested that it never be released.
“The Last of Us Part 2 multiplayer mod that has been in development since January was supposed to release this month. Unfortunately I recently received a letter on behalf of Sony Interactive Entertainment requesting for the mod not to be released,” explained Speclizer. “Extremely sad that this never got to see the light of day but I hope you’ll continue to follow me onto the next project, this time something of my own. Thank you all for the incredible amount of support over the last year.”
On one hand, it’s not surprising to see PlayStation make this move, as The Last of Us is its own IP that it can control in any way that it sees fit. If PlayStation or Naughty Dog intend to ever create another The Last of Us multiplayer title, it surely wouldn’t want to compete with one made by a fan.
On the other hand, this decision only kills newfound interest in The Last of Us Part 2 on PC that had been building up in recent months. Had this mod released, it surely could have resulted in new sales and higher player counts for TLOU2 on PC platforms, which would have only benefitted PlayStation. For it to now be prevented from launching undoubtedly kills this from being a possibility.
Moving forward, Naughty Dog boss Neil Druckmann has teased that the studio isn’t done with The Last of Us as a whole and currently has new projects tied to the series in development. Whether or not any of these projects are actually gaming-related in nature, though, remains to be seen.