The Last of Us' multiplayer spin-off gets trivial PS4 release hint

The Last of Us' upcoming multiplayer — and likely first major live-service push from Sony — has long been slated for PS5, but a trivial detail suggests PS4 release potential.

Fans of The Last of Us' trophies know that Naughty Dog's Faction multiplayer was a surprisingly epic and robust expansion to one of the best PS3 games. Now, Sony has greenlit a full TLOU multiplayer spin-off for PS5 — but a new job posting has a tiny detail that might hint at a PS4 release too.

The Last of Us multiplayer spin-off might hit PS4

TLOU's new multiplayer might be for PS5 and PS4

We have heard next to nothing since The Last of Us multiplayer was revealed — or, at least, no big news. While the latest buzz revolving around a Naughty Dog job listing (via Emopulse) isn't exactly an explosion of fresh footage and screenshots, it does appear to give us our potential platforms. As part of your skillset for the temporary QA post on Naughty Dog's next project, a requirement is "a working knowledge of PS4 and PS5 systems."

Many are pointing to this trivial detail as a suggestion that the PS4 might be getting The Last of Us' new live-service multiplayer game as well as PS5. Indeed, the specificity of needing the experience of both platforms is important and ties into Sony's approach to the new generation thus far. We did see God of War Ragnarok come to PS4 as well as Spider-Man Miles Morales and Horizon Forbidden West, back when Sony seemed reluctant to give up on the huge user base of the old system while the PS5 struggled with stock shortages, manufacturing issues, and the pandemic.

The Last of Us Part 1 came to PS5 with a muted response... until now!

The Last of Us Part 1 came to PS5 -only

Indeed, it also makes sense for its attempt at entering the live-service space, as it will want to reach as many potential players as possible. However, we'd argue that this little detail about The Last of Us Factions 2.0 might not be the smoking gun people think it is — Naughty Dog seems to just be asking for people familiar with working on PlayStation platforms and thus be used to the workflow each presents. Both share a compatible development environment — give or take the PS5's immense computing power — so a QA familiar with PS4 would, thus, be pretty much ready to go on PS5.

PS4 knowledge has generally been required for most PlayStation Studio job applications, as well. So, this update mostly highlights that Sony is probably tearing its hair about whether it should be pivoting towards next-gen only or making use of those players on the older system. What do you think? Are you for a PS4 release or against it? Let us know in the comments below!

Written by Kes Eylers-Stephenson

Editor Kes is our resident expert in PlayStation and other gaming news. He writes about PS5 exclusives like The Last of Us and Horizon, PS Plus news, and his favorite games — The Witcher, Assassin’s Creed, and God of War — before an evening swim.