The Last of Us Online might have died once Naughty Dog realized it would have to support it for a long time, but a modder is currently making a multiplayer mod for The Last of Us Part II, aiming to recreate the Factions experience in the newer game.
The modder is Speclizer, who previously attempted to reimplement the cut Hold Up feature in the game. Since January 2026, however, he's been busy with this multiplayer project, which started as a modest proof of concept: two independent instances of Ellie, spawned and controlled simultaneously in the same game world, running only locally. Speclizer was careful to manage expectations from the start, noting they had no idea if it would "turn out to be anything."
It has, however, since turned into considerably more than that: yesterday, the modder shared 25 minutes of new gameplay from his The Last of Us Part II multiplayer mod, adding that the goal is to launch it in September 2026. The mod even features a loadout and map selection menu, thanks to custom UI built in-engine using Naughty Dog's own Widget system.
The modder had previously released seven episodes of a publicly documented development log. By Episode 5, Speclizer had successfully synchronized character models, prone movement, weapon switching, inventory, and even implemented a custom weapon drop mechanic. Episode 6 pushed further into the systems that underpin real multiplayer gameplay: more player component synchronization and interactable object syncing. By the time the Episode 7 devlog dropped, the project had evolved into something resembling a genuinely playable PvP proof of concept.
The latest episode tackled some of the most technically demanding problems yet. Sprint synchronization was added and works cleanly, including correct interaction with doors while moving. Backpack sync was implemented by hooking the game's request-state function and controlling which states the remote client accepts or rejects. Door sync was functional, and squeeze-through sync (the tight-corridor animations used throughout the regular game) was mostly working, with two-way squeezes still having some issues.
The most significant milestone was cracking hit detection. The core problem was that the game's original collision layer system naturally excludes the player layer from bullet raycasting to prevent self-damage, which means bullets pass straight through the second player. Speclizer resolved this by reassigning the remote player's collision layer to the same layer used by NPCs, causing the hit detection system to treat them as enemy characters rather than players. Full-body hit reactions were also disabled on the remote player, preventing the shooter from being trapped in a hit animation with no chance to fire back. A custom death handler was also written to stop the game from failing the level when a player dies.
With that working, Speclizer assembled the building blocks of an actual game mode: a life count system, a radar, spawn points, and a respawn handler, all directly inspired by Supply Raid, the core competitive mode from the original The Last of Us Factions. The result was the mod's first-ever 1v1 match.
Of course, this The Last of Us Part II multiplayer mod will only be available on PC. There's also the matter of copyright: Sony and Naughty Dog could conceivably issue a DMCA takedown if it is ever released to the public. Still, for anyone who misses the Factions experience, this would be a great thing, especially as there's no telling when or even if Naughty Dog itself will release a new The Last of Us game with an online component.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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