Since its release in 2020, The Last of Us Part II remains a monument to single-player gaming, but the total lack of multiplayer has left a bitter taste for Naughty Dog fans, especially after the cancellation in December 2023 of the standalone Factions. The studio chose to focus on narrative experiences, leaving aside any online sequel.
We had to wait the PC version of The Last of Us Part II Remastered, launched on April 3, 2025, so that a well-known modder, Speclizer, managed to unlock what many thought impossible: a true multiplayer mode, playable by two people in the same Seattle. A free coop mode therefore technically already exists, but in what state and for whom exactly?
The Last of Us 2: a free coop mode finally real on PC?
Licensing specialist, Speclizer has made a name for itself with projects like Project FEDRA on TLOU2 or survival mods on the first episode. On January 10, 2026, he posted a video showing two independently controlled Ellies in the semi-open area of Seattle, on PC. The two players move, aim and shoot separately, in the same persistent world.
Visually, everything already looks like a co-op session: same session, same city invaded by vegetation, synchronized movements. One fan summed up the excitement below the video with a simple comment: “It will be epic to be able to play with others in this game engine!”, reports GamingBible. For the first time, The Last of Us Part II truly welcomes several players in the same environment.