of The Last of Us Remastered. By August 2017, with the release of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, the entire 350-person team at Naughty Dog had shifted to develop Part II. Neil Druckmann led development as creative director and writer, reprising his role from The Last of Us and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (2016). Bruce Straley, game director on the original game, left Naughty Dog in 2017; Druckmann felt that the dynamic on Part II, the first game he co-directed without Straley, was different as a result. Anthony Newman and Kurt Margenau were selected to be co-game directors for Part II, a first for Naughty Dog as the position was previously held by one person. Both were hired during the development of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009); Newman was the melee combat designer for The Last of Us, and Margenau was game director on Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Margenau and Newman oversaw and approved the gameplay elements, such as level design and mechanics. Co-lead game designers Emilia Schatz and Richard Cambier were also part of the creative leadership team, continuing their roles from the development of Uncharted 4. Druckmann identified that, while Naughty Dog was granted the freedom to create any type of game, they were energized when presented the option to make a sequel to The Last of Us due to the importance of the characters, despite knowing it would divide some fans. The team subtitled the game as Part II because they viewed it as an extension of the first. Druckmann wanted Part II to be as effective a sequel as The Godfather Part II (1974) was to The Godfather (1972). Plans for multiplayer were canceled because resources were shifted to improving the scale of the game. Naughty Dog stated that The Last of Us Part II was the longest game they had made. For the final months of development, the team shifted to remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though they were given the option to do so prior to the mandatory stay-at-home order in California; the operations management department ensured the transition was smooth, as the studio housed technology such as development kits that were not accessible in home setups. Druckmann felt lucky that development was almost complete by the time the pandemic spread in the United States. Game development ceased by May 4, 2020, when it was submitted for manufacturing. The development, according to