Rumor: The Last of Us multiplayer game could be free-to-play

A new job posting at The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog could indicate that their upcoming multiplayer project set in The Last of Us universe will be a free-to-play game. The job listing is for a "Producer - Live Ops" and specifically mentions experience with a AAA, free-to-play live service title as a requirement of the position.

We know that PlayStation developer Naughty Dog is hard at work on the project, with more updates planned for 2023. Earlier this year, studio co-president Neil Druckmann hopped on the the Summer Game Fest stream to share the first details of the game, including that it will have its own cast of characters. Druckmann also shared the first piece of concept art which reveals that it will take place in San Francisco.

A free-to-play model has not been confirmed by Naughty Dog, so this is merely speculation at this point, although it would certainly line up with PlayStation's plans for exponential growth in live service games. In fact, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan revealed earlier this year in a presentation to investors that the company plans to release two live service titles in the current fiscal year, which ends March 31st, with a total of 12 live service games from PlayStation hitting the market by March 31st, 2026.