A YouTuber who data mined the source code for Last of Us 2 claims to have uncovered in-game assets that could point towards a battle royale mode for multiplayer, if it ever materializes for the popular Naughty Dog title.
According to Game Rant’s report, a YouTuber named Speclizer undertook an analysis of the assets that were revealed by data mining efforts involving the source code for Last of Us 2’s single player mode. According to the streamer, one of the assets discovered was a map that could have been intended for a battle royale mode for multiplayer.
The data mining also revealed other assets like a player count, an emote wheel script, and a compass. Game Rant noted that all of these are assets that are usually found in games in the battle royale genre.
The article noted that, while the first Last of Us game was applauded for its narrative and its multi-player experience, the second game does not have a multiplayer mode packaged when it was released. Naughty Dog has not released any official statements as well as to the existence of a multi-player mode.
Interestingly, Coming Soon reported recently that Naughty Dog published a job opportunity in LinkedIn seeking a monetization designer for what it called its “first standalone multiplayer game.” The company did not mention a name for the game, although fans are quick to speculate that this might be the Factions mode for Last of Us 2 that the developers promised for the fans in 2019.
Game Rant also reported in June that Naughty Dog was also looking for a gameplay scripter and a level designer also for its first standalone multiplayer outing.