There is now no longer going to be an online multiplayer version for The Last Of Us. Naughty Dog put out a statement today announcing “We’ve made the incredibly difficult decision to stop development on that game”
The studio acknowledged the disappointment that this announcement will cause across the fans and community around the game saying “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.”
The reason behind this was the realization of the kind of resources they would be required to put behind a fully dedicated live-service games, which would hamper their ability to produce future single-player narrative games, which they felt is Naughty Dog’s heritage
The statement concluded with “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.” While this is sure to come as a shock to fans and gamers, the good thing over here atleast is a clear closure and direction that the studio has set out for themselves.
The Last Of Us Online has had a bit of a tortured history, with the game originally planned to be launched along with Last Of Us 2 back in 2020, post which it was decided to be pushed out later as a stand alone title. The next big milestone in the Last Of Us universe is going to be the PS5 remaster of The Last Of Us Part 2 on Jan 19, 2024.
