The Last of Us Online canceled as Naughty Dog didn’t want to ‘become a solely live service games studio’
The studio will continue to focus on single-player games
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Naughty Dog has confirmed that it has stopped development on its multiplayerThe Last of Ustitle - known asThe Last of Us Online- after concerns that it would impact the studio’s future single-player games.
The Last of Us Onlineentered pre-production during the development ofThe Last of Us Part 2(the one that released in 2020), which notably arrived without a multiplayer mode, unlike its predecessor. In astatementshared on the Naughty Dog blog yesterday (December 14), the studio said that the decision to stop development on the title was “incredibly difficult” and added that the developers are “crushed at the studio as we were looking forward to putting it in your hands.”
According to Naughty Dog, the multiplayer game had “tremendous potential” and as more work was put into it, “we were enthusiastic about the direction in which we were headed.” However, things changed when the studio realized the “massive scope” of what it was trying to achieve.
“In ramping up to full production, the massive scope of our ambition became clear. To release and supportThe Last of Us Onlinewe’d have to put all our studio resources behind supporting post-launch content for years to come, severely impacting development on future single-player games,” the studio explained. “So, we had two paths in front of us: become a solely live service games studio or continue to focus on single-player narrative games that have defined Naughty Dog’s heritage.
“We are immensely proud of everyone at the studio that touched this project. The learnings and investments in technology from this game will carry into how we develop our projects and will be invaluable in the direction we are headed as a studio,” it continued. “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.”
At the time of writing, we’re just under a month away from the release ofThe Last of Us Part 2 Remastered- an improved version of the 2020 sequel made with thePlayStation 5in mind, complete with improved visuals,DualSensefeatures, andnew content. It’s set to launch on January 19, 2024 - be sure to check out ourpre-order guidefor details on the different editions.
For more games like The Last of Us, be sure to check out our recommendations for thebest single-player games, as well as thebest PS5 gamesfor an even wider selection.
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
Catherine is a News Writer for TechRadar Gaming. Armed with a journalism degree from The University of Sheffield, she was sucked into the games media industry after spending far too much time on her university newspaper writing about Pokémon and cool indie games, and realising that was a very cool job, actually. She previously spent 19 months working at GAMINGbible as a full-time journalist. She loves all things Nintendo, and will never stop talking about Xenoblade Chronicles.
Best Dragon Age games in 2024 - every series entry ranked
New No Man’s Sky PS5 Pro details reveal 8K support
7 myths about email security everyone should stop believing
