This is why “great” ‘The Last Of Us’ multiplayer game got cancelled

A former PlayStation executive has explained why a “great” The Last Of Us multiplayer game was scrapped.

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The Last Of Us creators Naughty Dog first announced their ambitious multiplayer spin-off in 2022. The project was delayed the following year to allow developers more time to work on the game but it was cancelled a few months later. 

In a new interview with Sacred Symbols+ (via Push Square), former PlayStation exec Shuhei Yoshida confirmed he had played the scrapped game and “it was great”.

“The idea for The Last Of Us Online came from Naughty Dog and they really wanted to make it,” he continued. “But [Destiny developers] Bungie explained to them what it takes to make live service games, and Naughty Dog realised, ‘Oops, we can’t do that! If we do it, we can’t make [upcoming game] Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.’ So that was a lack of foresight.”

“From my experience, when studios see the company has a big initiative, they realise riding on that gives them a better chance of getting a project approved and supported,” he added. “It’s not like [current PlayStation boss Hermen Hulst] is telling teams they need to make live service games, it’s likely mutual.”

Announcing the cancellation, Naughty Dog wrote: “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.”

As well as being involved in the HBO adaptation of The Last Of Us, Naughty Dog is currently developing intergalactic action-adventure game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet which will feature a score composed by  Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The studio has also teased a third The Last Of Us game. “One more chapter,” said studio head Neil Druckmann last year.

In other news, it’s been confirmed that the first episode of The Last Of Us season two will premiere April 13.

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