Last of Us Multiplayer Game Was 80% Complete Before It Was Canceled

by

Naughty Dog, the studio behind The Last of Us, was developing a standalone multiplayer game set in that same world. Reports indicate the project was almost 80% finished when it was cancelled in 2023. Work on The Last of Us Online started during the creation of The Last of Us Part 2. The goal was to build upon the Factions multiplayer mode from the original 2013 game, but the project grew too large in scope and was ultimately abandoned after nearly seven years of work.

Naughty Dog is famous for its story-focused, single-player games like The Last of Us and Uncharted. However, the studio has also had success with multiplayer. Several Uncharted games featured popular online modes, and the original The Last of Us (2013) included a multiplayer component called Factions. While support for Factions on PlayStation 3 ended in 2019 with the server closure, it’s still playable on PlayStation 4 and 5 through The Last of Us Remastered.

The Last of Us Multiplayer Game Was “Very Close to Done”

The Factions multiplayer mode gained a lot of traction within the The Last of Us fanbase, prompting Naughty Dog to consider a full, standalone multiplayer game set in the same world. Originally announced in 2022 as The Last of Us Online, the project was described as very ambitious, and the studio grew its team to support its development. Unfortunately, the game was canceled in 2023, despite being nearly complete – the director estimates it was 80% finished at the time.

I was really bummed to hear about The Last of Us Online getting canceled, and I just listened to a podcast interview with Vinit Agarwal, a former Naughty Dog employee who worked on it for almost seven years – starting way back in 2016! He said the project was actually about 80% finished when they pulled the plug. Apparently, it all came down to money and the pandemic. He explained that while COVID actually helped the gaming industry overall – everyone was stuck at home and playing more games, so there was a lot of money flowing around in 2020 – it still wasn’t enough to keep the project going, unfortunately.

Online gaming surged in popularity in 2020 as people stayed home during lockdowns, and this contributed to PlayStation’s decision to invest in The Last of Us Online, according to Agarwal. He says the game was performing very well during internal testing. However, when life began to return to normal, Naughty Dog had to choose between continuing development of this new, experimental title and prioritizing Neil Druckmann’s next project – now known as the highly anticipated PS5 exclusive Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. Agarwal described the cancellation as a difficult blow, noting he had spent seven years working on the game and was only informed of the decision a day before the public announcement.

As a big fan, I was really bummed when Naughty Dog canceled The Last of Us Online last year. They said it was a cool idea with a lot of promise, but once they really started building it, they realized how massive it would be. Basically, keeping a live-service game going for years would have taken a ton of resources away from the single-player stories they’re famous for, and they didn’t want to sacrifice those experiences.

At The Game Awards 2024, Naughty Dog announced their new science fiction game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. The game boasts a famous cast and promises to be a deeply emotional and story-focused experience, representing Naughty Dog’s most ambitious narrative to date. While there’s no confirmed release date yet, fans are eager for more updates as the game nears its two-year announcement anniversary.

Read More

2026-04-02 20:07