Naughty Dog announced today that the The Last of Us Multiplayer project has been officially discontinued. According to a post on the developer’s official website, “we’ve made the incredibly difficult decision to stop development on that game.”
“We know this news will be difficult for many, especially our dedicated The Last of Us Factions community, who have been following our multiplayer ambitions ardently,” it continues. We’re just as disappointed at the studio as we were looking forward to getting it into your hands.” The full scope of the project was only realised when it entered full production, leaving the developer with only two options: “Become a solely live service games studio or continue to focus on single-player narrative games that have defined Naughty Dog’s heritage.”
Uncharted selected the latter, and therefore its live-service The Last of Us game is no longer available. “We are extremely proud of everyone at the studio who worked on this project.” The technological learnings and investments from this game will inform how we build our projects and will be important in the direction we are taking as a company.”
Naughty Dog concludes the post by stating that it is working on “more than one ambitious, brand new single player game” and that it “cannot wait to share more about what comes next when we’re ready.”
This is just another setback for Sony’s foray into live-services, since several of its mostly undisclosed endeavours have been pushed back. Concord and Fairgame$ were not well received when they were announced, and Bungie — the developer hired to oversee the platform holder’s “live-service centre of excellence” — is struggling more than ever, with layoffs and a disgruntled community. How do you feel about this news? Leave your opinions in the comments section below.
