Naughty Dog’s “First Standalone Multiplayer Game” Hints “Compelling Gameplay”

Just as speculations dictated in the past, developer Naughty Dog has indeed been working on a new multiplayer project for PlayStation 5.

Just as speculations dictated in the past, developer Naughty Dog has indeed been working on a new multiplayer project for PlayStation 5.

According to a couple of new job listings (via VGC) from earlier today, Naughty Dog seeks a gameplay scripter and a level designer to work on its “newest adventure” and which will be its “first standalone multiplayer game.”

The job listings further reveal that Naughty Dog aims to infuse its unannounced multiplayer game with the same signature story-driven experiences the studio has come to be known for. That includes multiplayer maps featuring “realistic spaces with strong identity and compelling gameplay” and a long-term goal of updating maps with new “evolutions” of sorts.

Naughty Dog has been known to be working on multiple new projects for a while now. Back in March, co-president and director Neil Druckmann teased “several cool things” to be in the works but which will only be shared in due time.

Based on reports alone, the first-party PlayStation studio has a new narrative-driven single-player game in its pipelines alongside a multiplayer game set in the post-apocalyptical Last of Us universe.

Both the Uncharted and the Last of Us franchises had multiplayer modes but which were never meant to trump their single-player narrative adventures. Naughty Dog diversifying itself into a standalone multiplayer project hence comes as surprising. While the studio has never failed when it comes to quality experiences, multiplayer fans will be hoping to see the developer take a larger leap by perfecting online play instead of just carrying over past multiplayer gameplay from the Uncharted and the Last of Us games.

Naughty Dog had a good run during its previous-generation PlayStation 4 era. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, The Last of Us Remastered, and The Last of Us Part 2 all saw stellar receptions at launch. The developer will now have to make its original PlayStation 5 debut in the coming years.

Saqib is a managing editor at segmentnext.com who has halted regime changes, curbed demonic invasions, and averted at least one cosmic omnicide from the confines of his gaming chair. When not whipping his writers into ...