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Summary
Naughty Dog ’s ostensibly ambitious program for a standalone multiplayerThe Last of Usgame have fall through , and it regrettably may spell the end of such projects indefinitely . The hot - service multiplayer game , originally planned as a component ofThe Last of Us Part 2 , had already been announced , though very little was still have it away about its gameplay . As a likely successor to the originalTLOU ’s Factions multiplayer musical mode , and considering Naughty Dog ’s pedigree , the game had a solid amount of promise , but its cancelation may now signal the ending of the franchise ’s multiplayer ventures altogether .
Although the studio cut its teeth onCrash BandicootandJak and Daxter , Naughty Dog has risen to PlayStation Studios preeminence on the back ofUnchartedandThe Last of Us . Both are celebrate for their cinematic style and rich character evolution , but neither are strangers to humble , yet compelling multiplayer offer . MultipleUnchartedtitles included rather escape - of - the - manufacturing plant , yet still fun , versus and accommodative multiplayer way , butThe Last of Us ' Factions had fascinating metaprogression that never quite reached its potential . Unfortunately , with what Naughty Dog touch to asThe Last of Us Onlinenow cancel , that potential difference may never be ultimately realized .
The Last of Us Part 2 ’s remaster has been announced by Sony and Naughty Dog with all - new content and enhancements to apply the PS5 ’s hardware .
The Last Of Us Online Canceled So Naughty Dog Can Focus On Single-Player
In an update print toNaughty Dog ’s website on December 14 , 2023 , the developer let on the cancelation of a project known internally asThe Last of Us Online . The studio apartment ’s reasoning for the cancelation has to do with the game ’s scope : " To release and support The Last of Us Online we ’d have to put all our studio resourcefulness behind supporting station launching depicted object for year to come , severely impacting ontogenesis on next individual - player biz . " According to the update , the studio apartment matte up that further pursuance ofThe Last of Us Online , and the effort ask to keep it run as a live - service game , would requireabandoning the single - actor experience that afforded Naughty Dog its reputation .
WhileTLOU Online ’s cancelation is disappointing , the reasoning is healthy . The update from Naughty Dog also support that the multiplayer project had been in pre - product since the ontogeny ofTLOU Part 2 . This corroborates former indications from the studio thatTLOU Part 2was originally presuppose to transport with a multiplayer component , just like its predecessor , but the game mode had grown too challenging , and was spun off into a freestanding project or else . Said undertaking wasannounced with a individual construct artwork imageat Summer Game Fest 2022 , but without a title . Sporadic construct prowess is all the promotion the secret plan would receive over the next year - and - a - one-half , teasing a San Francisco setting .
While Naughty Dog was " enthusiastic about the counsel " ofTLOU Online , earlier reports intimate the game did not fulfill some form of inner PlayStation rating . In May 2023,Bloombergreported that Bungie – produce by Sony in 2022 – was consulted on the labor because of its success withDestiny 2 , and " raised questions about the The Last of Us multiplayer project ’s power to keep players engaged for a long period of time . " Naughty Dog then chop-chop , formally announced that the labor was delayed indefinitely to be reassessed . Now , The Last of Us Online ’s cancelation seems poised to put the dealership ’s multiplayer ambitions on ice for good .
The Last Of Us May Never Have Another Multiplayer Game
Bungie was , in part , brought into the PlayStation Studios fold because of its expertise in the live - service field – Destiny 2has persisted for six years . PlayStation had , at one stop , more than 10 live - service title in the work , though half of them have been check , fit in toGame Informer , The Last of Us Onlinepresumably among them . Bungie ’s rating of the projection touches on the crux of modern bouncy - serve game : longevity . Especially sinceThe Last of Us ' multiplayer project was rumored to be liberal - to - period of play , it would have belike been supported by a constant content drip – seasonal addition , battle passes , cosmetics , etc .
Naughty Dog ’s allusion to this in its cancelation statement , about choosing between being " a entirely bouncy overhaul games studio " or one devoted to the " individual - player story games that have defined Naughty Dog ’s heritage , " then has important implication for the developer ’s output going forward . The hike of live - Robert William Service games has been keep company by the ruin of more traditional multiplayer modes , likeThe Last of Us’Factions . With game development cycles keep on to become longer , and live - help speculation requiring constant maintenance , there ’s simply not enough resourcefulness to pursue both , at least in Naughty Dog ’s case .
InNaughty Dog ’s May 2023 statement onTLOU Online ’s indefinite postponement ( via X , formerly known as Twitter ) , there is a reference to " a steel new individual - instrumentalist experience , " which has still not been revealed . The Last of Us Part 3leakshave indicated a sequel is in production , andUncharted 5may have been tease , so Naughty Dog ’s single - thespian future was never really in doubt . Uncharted 4shipped with a multiplayer mode , but that was approximately two long time beforePUBG : BattlegroundsandFortnitebrought the struggle royale genre into the limelight , usher in the modern , potentially moneymaking bouncy - service geological era .
Naughty Dog ’s technological prowess and high storytelling criterion , combined with first moment that multiplayer games will be endorse and iterated on well after launch , means actively keep going a live - service title while developing single - player games is likely impossible logistically . This is n’t inevitably unparalleled to Naughty Dog ; the industry at big has almost entirely moved away from ring - in multiplayer modes . It ’s put off to considerthere may never be a take after - up toThe Last of UsFactions , but it ’s essentially a consequence of a consumer - driven manufacture shift – developing a multiplayer game is simply not deserving the investment if it does n’t return gain for long time post - launching .
cabal is still playable inThe Last of Us Remastered , the PlayStation 4 remaster of the original game , but is not included inThe Last of Us Part 1 , the PS5 remake .
The Last of Us Online ’s cancelation is ultimately a double - edge sword . Naughty Dog refocusing on unmarried - player games is wondrous tidings , but it also does n’t inspire any hope that Factions will see any sort of return . The Last of Us Part 2 Remasteredis merchant marine with anew roguelike game modeand someLost Levels cut during development , but the original release ’s multiplayer hope are thoroughly deadened . Unless Naughty Dog shifts its entire nidus toward a multiplayer secret plan , or establishes another studio for that express purpose , The Last of Uswill likely never have multiplayer again , nor will the developer ’s other claim .
root : Naughty Dog , Bloomberg , Game Informer , Naughty Dog / X
