Development of the multiplayer PvP mod for The Last of Us Part II on PC has been halted, and its release scheduled for this month has been canceled. Mod author Speclizer stated that the team received an email purportedly from Sony Interactive Entertainment, requesting them not to release the project.
Speclizer mentioned that the team began working on the mod in January and invested about nine months into it. Although the project cannot be publicly released, he hopes players will continue to follow his next project, revealing that the new work will feature entirely original content.
In June this year, Speclizer released a roughly 25-minute gameplay demo showcasing the current state of the multiplayer mod. According to the team's announced plans, the official version would include an auditory mechanic, allowing players to determine opponents' approximate locations by sound.
The mod also planned to introduce a skill system with various effects and provide a set of new maps not featured in the original single-player campaign. However, as the team has halted development, these features will not be released this month as originally scheduled.
The Last of Us series has featured multiplayer modes before. The original The Last of Us included a multiplayer mode centered around the series' stealth mechanics, while another multiplayer project, The Last of Us Online, was officially canceled in 2023. Currently, the Speclizer team has not announced any further release plans for this PC multiplayer PvP mod.