by Following the release of The Last of Us Part 2 in 2020, developer Naughty Dog had plans to launch a standalone multiplayer game. Ahead of the base game’s PS4 debut, the developer confirmed that this multiplayer aspect would not be released alongside Part 2 as expected.
Back in 2019, Naughty Dog stated that its efforts to develop The Last of Us Part 1’s Factions multiplayer mode for the sequel went “beyond an additional mode that could be integrated into our massive single-player campaign,” and that it would therefore be released separately.
The project then encountered several obstacles. As recently as May 2023, Naughty Dog stated that more time was needed. Despite this, the studio stuck to the game’s release until last December, when The Last of Us’ standalone multiplayer project was finally canceled.
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The studio explained that currently, when given the choice of either becoming an “exclusive live service game studio” or continuing to “focus on narrative-driven single-player games” – something the studio is best known for – it has chosen the latter.
Since then, Naughty Dog has not provided any further details about the consequences of halting the long-in-the-works project. However, Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier has now said that the move to halt development of the release was “not a bloodless undertaking.”
In Friends Per Second’s latest podcast, Schreier discussed the recent layoffs at Destiny developer Bungie. During his podcast assignment, the reporter described Sony’s live service offensive – as well as that of the entire industry – as “trend chasing.”
“The list of games that have gone from single-player studios to online services and turned out to be debacles is very, very long,” he said. “I think I’ve re-evaluated a lot of them – the cycle is: ‘Single-player studio super successful, moves to live services. Spends seven years making a live service game that nobody wants. The live service game comes out and is a debacle.'”
He then addressed The Last of Us, saying he was glad the studio was able to break that cycle by canceling its own multiplayer. But even though the studio managed to break the cycle by not releasing its game, there were still consequences.
“I mean, Naughty Dog’s Factions game was in development for about four years, with a team of several hundred people. That’s an expensive endeavor for something that was a flop,” Schreier said (thanks, Dream Walker). “That project, like the cancellation, was not a bloodless endeavor.”
“Some heads rolled at Sony.”
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Despite their previous boom in popularity, interest in live service games has waned, and a recent survey found that 70 percent of developers are now concerned about their sustainability. Meanwhile, the video game industry has seen devastating job cuts across the sector over the past two years as the dust settles after the pandemic.
As for Naughty Dog, Neil Druckmann recently said the developer “will not remain The Last of Us studio forever.” At the time, the studio head also stated that Naughty Dog is working on a number of games, including “several single-player projects.”
