The Last of Us Part 2: Remastered listed on Naughty Dog dev's LinkedIn
Following previous enhanced version chatter.
A reference to a "remastered" version The Last of Us Part 2 has been spotted on the profile of a Naughty Dog developer, lending further credence to suggestions an enhanced version of the 2020 PlayStation 4 game is on the way.
Hints that an expanded version of The Last of Us Part 2 is in development at Naughty Dog first surfaced back in July, when the game's composer, Gustavo Santaolalla, referenced a "new edition" that would enable players to interact with his banjo-playing cameo in the town of Jackson, selecting from a number of songs he can play.
Santaolalla wouldn't share any more details beyond that, leaving fans to ponder exactly what sort of "new version" he might be referring to, but now, thanks to a now-removed update on the LinkedIn profile of Naughty Dog's lead outsource artist Mark Pajarillo (as spotted by over on Resetera), we might finally have a clearer idea.
Pajarillo - who worked as environment artist on the original release of The Last of Us Part 2, as well as other Naughty Dog games including Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy - wrote that, as the studio's lead outsource artist, he was "responsible for overseeing the production of all outsourced environments, art assets, weapons, and interactive props for two iconic titles: The Last of Us Part One and The Last of Us 2: Remastered."
While a remaster of The Last of Us Part 2 - a three-and-a-half year old PlayStation 4 game which has already been enhanced for PlayStation 5 - might raise a few eyebrows, an new version that polishes the game up to a similar standard as Naughty Dog's impressive The Last of Us Part 1 remake would certainly make some kind of sense - particularly with the renewed interest that's likely to come as HBO's live-action The Last of Us series begins adapting Part 2 across what's likely to be multiple seasons.
Naughty Dog, for its part, remains typically tight-lipped about the projects in development at the studio. Its long-in-the-works The Last of Us multiplayer game, announced in 2019, has reportedly run into trouble after the now-Sony-owned Bungie raised concerns about its "ability to keep players engaged for a long period of time" back in May, and we've heard nothing more about the "brand-new single-player experience" Naughty Dog teased at the same time. As for The Last of Us Part 3, it's yet to be announced but early details have already leaked online.