The Last of Us Part Two has been surrounded by rumors of a remaster for some time now. Now, The Last of Us Part Two Remaster has possibly been confirmed. The LinkedIn profile of Mark Pajarillo, a lead outsource artist at Naughty Dog, states that he had worked on “The Last of Us: Part One and The Last of Us 2: Remastered.” With the original game being released only a few years ago in 2019, it is a surprise that a Last of Us Part Two Remaster is already being developed.
Via The Lead Outsource Artist at Naughty Dog Mark Pajarillo: Responsible for overseeing the production of all outsourced environment art assets, weapons, and interactive props for "The Last of Us 2: Remastered" pic.twitter.com/NF1juEx1F7
— DomTheBomb (@DomTheBombYT) October 6, 2023
This news comes after the series composer, Gustavo Santaolla, confirmed in a Spanish interview that The Last of Us Part Two would receive a new version. He said that in the new version, players would be able to walk up to his in-game character in Jackson to make song requests. The Last of Us Part Two Remaster would most likely be this new version Santaolla mentions, especially after the recent LinkedIn profile news.
The Last of Us Part One was a full remaster of the original game, but it’s unexpected that The Last of Us Part Two Remaster will be on the same scale. More than likely, it will be similar to The Last of Us Remastered which was released on the PlayStation 4, as the original game was released on the PlayStation 3. The PlayStation 4 remaster included upscaled graphics and framerates, usage of the DualShock 4’s touchpad, and a photo mode. It is safe to say The Last of Us Part Two Remaster will be similar in scale, taking advantage of the PlayStation 5’s faster loading times and the DualShock 5’s adaptive triggers.
The Last of Us Part Two Remaster will certainly take advantage of the PlayStation 5’s upgrades over the PlayStation 4.
The Last of Us Multiplayer Game Development at Standstill
In further news with Naughty Dog, the company has suffered many layoffs. Amidst this, the development of their multiplayer Last of Us game has struggled with development. According to a Kotaku report, over 25 developers were part of the layoffs from many different departments. This only applied to contract workers, with no full-time staff being cut. No severance is being offered, and there is pressure on the remaining employees to stay quiet about the layoffs.
These layoffs come as quite a surprise, as Naughty Dog is actively developing a multiplayer Last of Us game. Inspired by the Factions mode in The Last of Us Remastered, the multiplayer spin-off has been struggling with development for some time now. One of Sony’s most recent acquisitions, Bungie, was tasked with reviewing the status of the development of the game. As the creators of Destiny 2, Bungie would know best how the development of a multiplayer game should go. When the review came back negative, however, Sony ended up taking resources away from the game’s development, further destroying the hopes for the game to be released soon. Now, the project is “on ice”.
The multiplayer spin-off that would incorporate The Last of Us Part Two’s action is surrounded by uncertainty with layoffs.
This multiplayer spinoff was hyped greatly by fans of the original multiplayer experience in The Last of Us Remastered. Players would be matched up in a 5v5 survival, sneaking around maps and collecting materials to create bombs, health packs, and more. With The Last of Us Part Two’s upgraded action from the original, the multiplayer spin-off would be a dream come true for fans. But for now, development has reached a snail’s pace, with much uncertainty around the game’s future.
