Naughty Dog, the creator of The Last of Us video game, has made the tough decision to cancel the development of its much-anticipated online multiplayer version of the game. The studio announced the decision, stating that it would have required significant resources for years to come, which would have impacted future single-player games. The studio faced the choice of becoming solely focused on live service games or continuing with single-player narrative games, and ultimately chose the latter.
The development of The Last of Us Online began alongside the development of the single-player follow-up, The Last of Us Part II, which was released in 2020. However, fans became aware that The Last of Us Online was in trouble after an update shared by the developer in May, expressing the need for more time for the game.
The Last of Us is a critically acclaimed game that follows a bereaved father and a teenage girl in a postapocalyptic America. The game’s success led to a television adaptation that received multiple Emmy Award nominations.
The cancellation of The Last of Us Online was disappointing for fans of The Last of Us Factions, an in-game multiplayer experience. While some in the gaming community supported Naughty Dog’s decision to focus on single-player games, others expressed disappointment and questioned the studio’s lack of foresight.