Just yesterday, Naughty Dog officially confirmed that there won’t be a The Last of Us 2 multiplayer mode. While that might be the case, the studio still has plans for something online-related though it won’t be for The Last of Us 2.

The studio made the announcement over on Twitter:

An update regarding multiplayer: pic.twitter.com/CUd98LgJGC

— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) September 27, 2019

We wanted to address the multiplayer in The Last of Us Part II. As we’ve stated, the single player campaign is far and away the most ambitious project Naughty Dog has ever undertaken. Likewise, as development began on the evolution of our Factions from from The Last of Us Part I, the vision of the game grew beyond an additional mode that could be included with our enormous single player campaign. Wanting to support both visions, we made the difficult choice that the Last of Us Part II would not include an online mode.

However, you will eventually experience the fruits of our team’s online ambition, but not as part of The Last of Us Part II. When and where it will be realized is still to be determined. But rest assured, we are as big a fan of Factions as the rest of our community and are excited to share more when it’s ready. – Naughty Dog

My take on this? Naughty Dog might be developing a purely online game wherein Factions are the main focus. It might or might not be The Last of Us-related, but you can bet it’ll be topnotch if Naughty Dog is involved.