It was billed as the biggest project ever by the creators of Uncharted and The Last of Us. Now, after a colossal investment, Naughty Dog’s first major multiplayer experience will remain stored indefinitely on a hard drive. The Last of Us Online has been officially cancelled.
This is not even a rumor (as is the case with the Star Wars KOTOR remake) but rather an announcement issued by the California studio itself through its official website
First things first: the project known internally as The Last of Us Onlineand colloquially called “the multiplayer of The Last of Us”, began to be developed in parallel with a The Last of Us Part 2 that did not directly have multiplayer, which makes it clear that it was a very long-term development if We assume that in a month we will see its remaster on PS5.
In other words: there was a lot of work already done and a lot of resources invested. The problem was never what he had already done or the experience of the game, but rather What Naughty Dog was going to become from this point.
Naughty Dog’s dilemma
At Naughty Dog they always had faith in the project and are happy with what they achieved and what they learned. However, at this point, to maintain The Last of Us Online After its launch, it would be necessary to dedicate all of the studio’s own resources solely to the project, so that they either kept the game alive after launch or diverted that same work, time, staff and budget to their other single player games. Faced with this dilemma, they opted for the latter.
As we reached full production, the enormous scope of our ambition became clear. To release and support The Last of Us Online, we would have to dedicate all of our studio resources to supporting post-launch content for the next few years, which would severely impact the development of future single-player games.
So, we had two paths before us: become a purely live-service game studio or continue to focus on the single-player narrative games that have defined Naughty Dog’s heritage.
The Last of Us Online was set to be the biggest game ever made by Naughty Dog, but it wasn’t going to be their first foray into online multiplayer experiences: games like Uncharted o The Last of Us They originally offered dedicated modes that, by the way, didn’t make the cut in their PS5 and PC versions. In any case, and unlike other sagas, there were always additional contents that rounded out the value of the stories. Because the narrative, by far, is the studio’s strong point.
The Last of Us Online ha sido cancelado And now that?
We know that this same year there was an attempt to redirect the course of The Last of Us Online
However, not even Naughty Dog was prepared to take that step after years of shaping it. Not without giving up what he does best.
And now that? We also know that a writers’ room has been set up in the Naughty Dog offices to work more and better on the stories of their next games. And there is so much room for a new look at the universe Uncharted (despite its sensational brooch) as for a new numbered delivery of The Last of Us. Even for new things.
In any case, projects much more aligned with PlayStation’s own great successes and that, in all probability, would not be possible if they had continued with The Last of Us Online.
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