The Last of Us Part 2 Fan Multiplayer Mod Cancelled After Sony Letter
A solo modder’s attempt to bring 4v4 competitive multiplayer to The Last of Us Part II on PC is dead. Speclizer, the developer behind the project, says he received a letter sent on behalf of Sony Interactive Entertainment asking that the mod never be released, and he’s pulled the plug on it entirely.
“Hey everyone, as you all know, the TOU 2 Multiplayer mod that has been in development since January was supposed to release this month,” Speclizer wrote. “Unfortunately I recently received a letter on behalf of Sony Interactive Entertainment requesting for the mod not to be released.” He added that he’d move on to something entirely his own next.
People are split between defending Sony’s IP rights and mourning a fan project that had actually gotten good:
What the Mod Had Actually Built by September
This wasn’t a tech demo. Development had progressed to functional 4v4 matches, matchmaking, loadouts, maps, and leaderboards. The mod’s development was partially funded via Patreon and included numerous custom features like perks and limited listening mechanics, as well as new maps.
Footage had been rolling out publicly since January, and by late July the project had jumped from 1v1 duels to full squad-based combat, complete with map selection and factions modelled on the original game’s Washington Liberation Front and Seraphites. It was on track for a public release this month.
Why Fans Wanted This in the First Place
Although The Last of Us Part 2 did not have a Multiplayer Mode, the first game featured a 4v4 multiplayer mode called Factions, and Naughty Dog decided to remove that mode from the sequel. Naughty Dog didn’t drop the idea of multiplayer entirely, it spun the concept into a standalone live-service game instead.
That standalone project, widely known as The Last of Us Online, never made it out either. Naughty Dog cancelled it in December 2023, saying at the time that keeping it running would have swallowed most of the studio’s resources for years to come, pulling focus away from single-player games. That gap is exactly what Speclizer’s mod was trying to fill.
Sony Hasn’t Explained the Reasoning
Nobody outside Sony and Speclizer has seen the actual letter, so there’s no public detail on whether the objection was about intellectual property, network security, the Patreon funding, or something else entirely. According to the group, the mod will now no longer be released, at the request of Naughty Dog and The Last of Us owner, PlayStation.
It’s worth remembering Sony isn’t alone in this. Companies like Take-Two and Nintendo have a long history of shutting down ambitious fan projects the moment they get too polished to ignore, and this fits that same pattern rather than breaking new ground.
Our Take: The Patreon Page Probably Didn’t Help
Here at ShaneTheGamer we think the timing says a lot. A free, purely cosmetic mod might have flown under the radar longer, but stacking Patreon funding on top of a full 4v4 competitive mode built on someone else’s IP is the kind of thing that gets a legal team’s attention fast.
We’re genuinely sad to see it go. Factions was one of the best things about the first game, and nobody official has replaced it in six years. But if you build a business model on top of a AAA publisher’s assets, you’re taking a bet, and this time the house won.
Speclizer says the WIP footage will likely stay up on his YouTube channel even though the mod itself won’t ship. His next project, he’s said, will be something built from scratch and entirely his own.
Join the Conversation