HBO
A much-anticipated The Last of Us multiplayer game has been canceled by game developer Naughty Doga decision the studio describes as crushing.
“We know this news will be tough for many, especially our dedicated The Last of Us Factions community, who have been following our multiplayer ambitions ardently,” the company has posted on its website. “We’re equally crushed at the studio as we were looking forward to putting it in your hands. We wanted to share with you some background of how we came to this decision.”
According to Naughty Dog, the “massive scope” of the multiplayer project – which would have been titled The Last of Us Online – was drawing studio resources away from Naughty Dog’s primary concern of single-player games, a line-up that has included the immensely popular The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II.
The game was the inspiration for the hit 2023 HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.
In its lengthy statement about the game cancelation – read it below – Naughty Dog says, “In ramping up to full production, the massive scope of our ambition became clear. To release and support The Last of Us Online we’d have to put all our studio resources behind supporting post launch content for years to come, severely impacting development on future single-player games. So, we had two paths in front of us: become a solely live service games studio or continue to focus on single-player narrative games that have defined Naughty Dog’s heritage.”
Naughty Dog notes that the “learnings and investments in technology” that resulted from the development of the now-canceled game “will carry into how we develop our projects and will be invaluable in the direction we are headed as a studio.”
The company says it has “more than one” ambitious single player game in the works.
Here’s the full statement from Naughty Dog:
We realize many of you have been anticipating news around the project that we’ve been calling The Last of Us Online. There’s no easy way to say this: We’ve made the incredibly difficult decision to stop development on that game.
We know this news will be tough for many, especially our dedicated The Last of Us Factions community, who have been following our multiplayer ambitions ardently. We’re equally crushed at the studio as we were looking forward to putting it in your hands. We wanted to share with you some background of how we came to this decision.
The multiplayer team has been in pre-production with this game since we were working on The Last of Us Part II – crafting an experience we felt was unique and had tremendous potential. As the multiplayer team iterated on their concept for The Last of Us Online during this time, their vision crystalized, the gameplay got more refined and satisfying, and we were enthusiastic about the direction in which we were headed.
In ramping up to full production, the massive scope of our ambition became clear. To release and support The Last of Us Online we’d have to put all our studio resources behind supporting post launch content for years to come, severely impacting development on future single-player games. So, we had two paths in front of us: become a solely live service games studio or continue to focus on single-player narrative games that have defined Naughty Dog’s heritage.
We are immensely proud of everyone at the studio that touched this project. The learnings and investments in technology from this game will carry into how we develop our projects and will be invaluable in the direction we are headed as a studio. We have more than one ambitious, brand new single player game that we’re working on here at Naughty Dog, and we cannot wait to share more about what comes next when we’re ready.
Until then, we’re incredibly thankful to our community for your support throughout the years.
