No Multiplayer onThe Last of Us Part II

Naughty Dog has stated that The Last of Us Part II will be the studio's "most ambitious and longest game" in its history – but that sizeable campaign means the title won't include multiplayer.

Word first came that the sequel would be single-player only, choosing to focus on a large campaign that would require the efforts of the whole team.

Multiplayer in the first game was an unexpected hit, with understated story-telling elements and a brilliant mix of stealth and action gameplay.

The developer has now released a statement to clarify, noting that "the vision of the [Factions] team grew beyond an additional mode that could be included with our enormous single player campaign."

Naughty Dog is still developing the online mode, although "when and where it will be realised is still to be determined."

Already, the single player element of Part II will need two discs to ship – something that's only been needed by collections or games of massive scope like Red Dead Redemption 2... so it's not like players will be at a loss for things to do.

At this time it's unclear whether multiplayer will be patched into The Last of Us Part II, or released as a standalone game.