Yesterday, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) announced that Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, the upcoming sequel to Naughty Dog's popular third-person, treasure hunting, action adventure shooter/thriller, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, will introduce diverse online competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes to the franchise. Currently in development, exclusively for Playstation 3, Uncharted 2 will allow for up to 10 players in five-on-five competitive gameplay, and up to three players in a cooperative adventure mode.

“Adding a multiplayer aspect to the Uncharted franchise is a significant step in the replayability of the game,” said Christophe Balestra, co president of Naughty Dog. “Uncharted 2: Among Thieves will be the most impressive and ambitious game that Naughty Dog has done and we are thrilled to let our fans experience it this fall.”

The entire multiplayer system in Uncharted 2 will allow groups of players to play together in ranked and custom matches while earning currency, which used in combination with currency earned in single player missions, will unlock additional content and upgrades. In the competitive modes, players will be able to battle in ranked matches, including the standard Death Match, and Plunder, a unique style of multiplayer competition that “encourages team work to transport a treasure over dynamic terrain such as ledges and obstacles”. Plunder will include maps based on environments from the game's single player campaign, from the nighttime streets of a war torn city to a Nepalese village, and will also allow players to create their own custom games, so they can play any type of game on any map. Meanwhile, the cooperative modes will let up to three players progress through a number of environments by working together to accomplish set objectives.

The single player campaign in Uncharted 2 follows Nathan Drake as he is lured back into the world of treasure-seeking thieves and mercenaries as he tries to discover the truth behind the lost fleet of Marco Polo and the legendary Himalayan valley of Shambhala.

SCEA is currently planning the start of a consumer beta program for Uncharted 2. The beta will begin on Wednesday, June 3^rd and will run through Sunday, June 28^th. SCEA will be running a cross-promotion with one of its other Playstation 3 exclusive titles, inFAMOUS, the upcoming open world super hero action adventure game developed by Sucker Punch Productions. Consumers who pick up a copy of inFAMOUS, which is releasing on May 26^th, will have the opportunity to take part in the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves multiplayer beta, via an access key packaged inside the inFAMOUS box.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is currently scheduled to release some time this fall and is not yet rated. inFAMOUS is rated T for Teen.