Naughty Dog, the well-known developer behind successful modern franchises such as Uncharted and The Last of Us, has new job listing on their official website, recruiting for an "Economy Designer" for an online experience.
Considering the candidate should "collaborate extensively with Live Ops team to optimize economy and respond to player needs" and "ensure robust longevity" to the company's titles, it's mostly likely that this will be a "live service" experience, having regular updates for months and years after launch (such as Destiny 2 or Warzone, for example).
Other responsibilities such as "design, implement, and tune game economy and player progression systems" and "collaborate extensively with other departments, especially Programming, Character, and UI to drive production on code and art assets necessary to the player economy" might indicate an important level of customization for players.
Released as a single-player-only experience, The Last of Us Part II lacked the "Factions" mode available in the original game. This decision was made so the team could focus on the campaign. However, back in 2009 Naughty Dog addressed fans' questions about multiplayer:
Whether the new "Economy Designer" will work on a multiplayer title set in The Last of Us universe or not, it's still too soon to say. Nonetheless, Naughty Dog's co-president Neil Druckmann recently said that the team has "several cool things" to show in the future.
The Last of Us Part II is now the fastest-selling PS4 exclusive ever, with phenomenal success worldwide having sold more than 4 million units in its opening week.
The Last of Us Part II will receive an update introducing new options, including the ability to play in a new hardcore Grounded mode, or with permadeath for those seeking a challenge.
