The Multiplayer Component For 'The Last Of Us' Has Been Discontinued

Since its announcement in June 2022, there has been little news on The Last of Us Multiplayer project, regardless of the various names it's been known by. Early this year, some concept art surfaced, yet it did little to quash persistent and credible whispers of the project facing issues. A statement from one of the game's directors last month offered a glimmer of hope for its continuation, but it seems that optimism was somewhat overstated.

Naughty Dog has now confirmed the cancellation of The Last of Us Online. The studio tacitly admits that feedback from Bungie and their own future vision played a role in this decision. The cancelation rationale they provided is as follows:

"As we transitioned into full-scale production, the overwhelming scale of our aspirations became apparent. The commitment to launch and subsequently uphold The Last of Us Online would necessitate diverting our entire studio's efforts toward post-release support for the foreseeable future. This would significantly impact our ability to create new single-player experiences. We were thus presented with a choice: transform into a live-service-focused studio or maintain our dedication to crafting narrative-driven single-player titles, which are a hallmark of Naughty Dog's legacy."

In essence, the studio chose not to reallocate the majority of its workforce to sustain a live-service model (particularly in light of PlayStation Studios scaling back on such initiatives), which would hinder their renowned single-player game development.

However, the effort invested in the multiplayer project has not been completely lost. Informants indicate that working on the project has allowed Naughty Dog to enhance their game engine, streamline production processes, and develop innovative gameplay mechanics, all of which will enrich the single-player games currently in development. Despite these silver linings, it's hard to shake off the disappointment in not being able to experience what could have been a quasi-open-world Last of Us multiplayer experience.