For years now we have known that Naughty Dog is working on a standalone multiplayer ‘Factions’ game set in the world of The Last of Us. While little has been revealed regarding this game – aside from a few sparse quotes and one single piece of concept art – a new job listing seems to suggest that the game might be free-to-play.
As discovered by ResetEra user ‘Det’ Naughty Dog recently published a new job listing for the role of ‘Producer – Live Ops’ in which under the bonus skills section it asks for: “Proven experience in a production role supporting a AAA, free to play, live title.”
While in no way confirmation, this does seem to suggest that the Factions game could be free-to-play in nature. Most newly released live-service titles adopt the free-to-play model with many seeing great success in doing so. That being said, there are an equal number of online games which require an upfront payment. Both methods of game distribution are viable, as long as the game itself is designed correctly around the monetary structure.
Sony has relatively little experience in live-service titles, however the console manufacturer has made this a sticking point for many of its future releases, with up to 10 live-service titles potentially on their way from Sony. With so many online games in the works, it will be interesting to see what approach Naughty Dog ends up taking for The Last of Us Factions.
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KitGuru says: What do you think of the job listing? Do you believe it will be free-to-play? Should it be? Let us know down below.