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AN UPDATE ON THE LAST OF US ONLINE​

We realize many of you have been anticipating news around the project that we've been calling The Last of Us Online. There's no easy way to say this: We've made the incredibly difficult decision to stop development on that game.

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. We wanted to share with you some background of how we came to this decision.

The multiplayer team has been in pre-production with this game since we were working on The Last of Us Part II – crafting an experience we felt was unique and had tremendous potential. As the multiplayer team iterated on their concept for The Last of Us Online during this time, their vision crystalized, the gameplay got more refined and satisfying, and we were enthusiastic about the direction in which we were headed.

In ramping up to full production, the massive scope of our ambition became clear. To release and support The Last of Us Online we'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. 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. 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.

Until then, we're incredibly thankful to our community for your support throughout the years.

An Update on The Last of Us Online || Naughty Dog

www.naughtydog.com

 

[Wastelander92]

An Update on The Last of Us Online || Naughty Dog

www.naughtydog.com

Good focus on sp games.

 

[Skifi28]

All these years wasted, meh. The remaster/remake didn't even come with the first game's multiplayer.

 

[Salty Popsicle]

Looks like Bungie wins after all...

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

At least they can now concentrate on what they do best.

 

[tommib]

 

[Metnut]

Best news I’ve heard all year. GAAS is a racket.

 

[phaedrus]

 

[VideoGameEnjoyer]

Huge bummer. Should have just given us Factions 2. Really wanted to try multiplayer with the great gameplay in Part II. But I guess it just wasn't GaaS enough.

 

[BennyBlanco]

 

[reinking]

Jim Ryan has lost control.

 

[rhodesianshepard]

Couldn't they at least release TLOU1 factions? That's all people wanted for TLOU2. Probably for the best. Glad it's not turning into a GAAS studio. Look at Bungie, they have 600 people working on Destiny, which is crazy

 

[elcapitano]

What a shame. I bet it would have been an amazing game imo.

Anyway since they have two single player games in development hopefully one is Part 3 and they put some sort of multiplayer into that so all the work doesn't go to waste.

That's the best solution at this stage.

 

[adamsapple]

 

[pqueue]

 

[phaedrus]

 

[Comandr]

Honestly? Good. If the alternative was to become a completely live service studio? This was a good decision.

 

[Insane Metal]

So many years for nothing

 

[rofif]

Good. Maybe they can scrap what they have into Single player story

 

[Salty Popsicle]

We would all be playing TLoU Part 3 by now if it wasn't for this waste of development time. I wonder how many more Sony developers are going to have to learn the hard way before they get the Bungie death blow.

 

[Joshmyersbv]

Naughty dog is such a well run video game company. They wasted how many years on remasters, remakes, and a game that never came out? What a fucking joke.

 

[Mortisfacio]

Good to see. Hopefully that alleged 20+ GaaS/live game plan dies with it. We all saw what devs like Arkane have done with Redfall when they switched from their niche to a live service game. It was awful. Don't do that to other devs.

 

[Gambit2483]

Is this really "News" or just inevitability?

 

[Physiognomonics]

Now that Jimbo is being fired they can focus on single player again. Naughty dog > President of Playstation.

 

[T4keD0wN]

At least they can now concentrate on what they do best.

HBO TV shows?

 

[R3TRODYCE]

Good choice, MP is overrated.

 

[Mr Hyde]

"In ramping up to full production, the massive scope of our ambition became clear. To release and support The Last of Us Online we’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. 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"

This reads to me like someone, either at ND or SIE, wanted Naughty Dog to become a full time GaaS-studio, but this direction was controversial and opposed by the majority of the staff, and thus they ditched it and went back to SP.

 

[pqueue]

guess they could not figure out the right way to "Woke" this up.

Capture the Lesbian Flag
Mansplaining Mini-Golf featuring Abby
etc

 

[adamsapple]

Nope. Too big of an IP for Sony to just abandon.

TLOU Online, assuming it's done right, is Sony's best chance for live-service success. This isn't dead.

 

[Rudius]

Jim Ryan has lost control.

Good.

 

[skit_data]

Well, there it is. Shame it would end this way.

Edit: Reading their reasoning behind it I think it was no doubt the best decision they could make.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Of all the GaaS I expected Sony to cancel, this was the LAST one I thought they'd cancel. Wild shit!!

 

[Brock2621]

Good, go back and make story driven games.

 

[YukiOnna]

Hopefully the team working on it is moved to a new project that has nothing to do with the last of us and multiplayer. Had enough seeing that IP with the "Remaster" and Remake.

 

[Saber]

 

[Alex Scott]

I and many others who played wanted a well-crafted PvP mode. Nothing more.

 

[nani17]

 

[Topher]

Good. Get back to what you know. Making kickass single player games.

 

[Fake]

 

[Mossybrew]

Yeah, there are a hundred current and upcoming multiplayer gaas titles to choose from, stick with the focused single player stuff ND.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Xbox podcasts about to blow up in celebration over the weekend. Cringing RN thinking what Boomstick, Colteastwood, Destin etc. are going to say.

 

[Spyxos]

Great, the only Mp game I've been waiting for.

 

[bitbydeath]

Put a bullet in TLOU3 next, and make something new.

 

[Robb]

I don’t mind one bit though. Move on to something worthwhile, and non-GAAS.

 

[buenoblue]

What an absurd waste of fucking time and money.

 

[Wolfpact1983]

At least they can now concentrate on what they do best.

 

[Gaiff]

In ramping up to full production, the massive scope of our ambition became clear. To release and support The Last of Us Online we’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. 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.

Sounds like some awful project management. You were building a GAAS so of course it would need tons of support for years. No one at Sony thought about building this support structure while development was underway so a team dedicated to the long term support could take over and let the main guys go back to making big single player games? They make Phil Spencer look like a visionary. Bunch of clowns.

 

[tmlDan]

This is awful news, im real sad. SO much potential with their combat system

 

[Draugoth]

SO MUCH FOR GAAS JIM

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

I and many others who played wanted a well-crafted PvP mode. Nothing more.

Good news is maybe, just maybe, they add the MP Factions mode to TLOU2 in an update next year. At least make good on that.

I think it's still salvageable, the Factions stuff. Do it for the goodwill and just, well, move on to TLOU3, next Uncharted, and the new IP(s?). Can't cry over spilled milk forever.