The Last of Us Online was a planned multiplayer game based on The Last of Us series that was being developed by Naughty Dog. Initially announced in 2018 as an expansion to The Last of Us Part II, the game later entered development as a standalone live service title before it was cancelled in December 2023.[1]
Development[]
Anthony Newman and Kurt Margenau, co-game directors of The Last of Us Part II, confirmed the existence of a multiplayer mode for the game at E3 2018. On The Last of Us Day 2019, Naughty Dog revealed that the multiplayer mode had grown in scope beyond what was feasible to bundle with the game and that they had made the decision to launch Part II without a multiplayer mode. Naughty Dog went on to say, "you will eventually experience the fruits of our team's online ambition... When and where it will be realized is still to be determined."[2]
The following year, on The Last of Us Day 2020, game director Neil Druckmann made a cryptic tweet that has widely been interpreted to be referring to the multiplayer game, saying to be patient as "it'll be worth it."[3] On The Last of Us Day 2021, Naughty Dog posted a blog addressed to The Last of Us community, which confirmed that they were continuing to develop the multiplayer game and that they were looking to hire additional staff for the project.[4]
At Summer Game Fest 2022, Neil Druckmann confirmed that the game would be a standalone title that would be just as big as any of Naughty Dog's single player games. It would feature unique story elements with brand new characters located in San Francisco, California.[5] He shared a picture of concept art featuring two armed survivors on a rooftop; in the background is the Bay Bridge and South of Market, as what appears to be a storm of dust and flying debris blankets the city. On the ground below them are other survivors fighting off infected. Druckmann continued to reveal that Naughty Dog veterans Vinit Agarwal, Anthony Newman, and Joseph Pettinati were helming the project. He ended by saying, "You'll hear a lot more about this game next year." In a blog posted by Naughty Dog the same day, the game was described as having a "massive scope and immense world," while their aim was to make the game "inviting to new players" while still keeping a "thrilling challenge for more of [their] seasoned fans."[6]
In a Twitter comment on The Last of Us Day 2022, Neil Druckmann reiterated that more details on the project would be released in 2023.[7] Druckmann released a second piece of concept art in January 2023 and said more information would be revealed later in the year.[8]
On May 26, 2023, it was reported by Jason Schreier of Bloomberg that Sony had slowed down development on the multiplayer project as Naughty Dog reassesses its quality and long-term viability. Sony, in a push to market "games as a service"—or video games designed to be monetized beyond their initial sales through a continuing revenue model—asked one of their studios, Bungie, to evaluate the games across its portfolio. Bungie questioned the multiplayer project's ability to maintain player engagement for a long period of time, which led to the reassessment. The team working on the project was scaled back as many of its developers were moved to other projects. Later that day, Naughty Dog released a statement on Twitter revealing that they realized the best thing for the game is to give it more time and confirmed that they were continuing to work on the project, alongside a "brand new single-player experience."[9][10][11]
On December 14, 2023, Naughty Dog announced The Last of Us Online had ceased development. In a blog post, the developer noted the large scope of the game, and need for significant post launch support, would impact the development of future games. The studio chose to end development on the Online multiplayer project to focus on single-player narrative titles.[1]
Gallery[]
Concept art[]
![Concept art released on Naughty Dog's blog[8]](https://destructoidmod.netlify.app/host-https-thelastofus.fandom.com/wiki/File:Multiplayer_game_concept_art.png "Multiplayer game concept art.png (3.86 MB)")
Screenshots[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Naughty Dog (December 14, 2023). "An Update on The Last of Us Online". Naughty Dog. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
- ↑ Naughty Dog [@Naughty_Dog] (September 26, 2019). "An update regarding multiplayer:" (Tweet). Retrieved June 9, 2022 - via Twitter.
- ↑ Druckmann, Neil [@Neil_Druckmann] (September 26, 2020). "Oh... and about that other thing... be patient. It’ll be worth it. ❤️" (Tweet). Retrieved June 9, 2022 - via Twitter.
- ↑ Snyder, Rochelle (September 26, 2021). "Celebrating The Last of Us Day 2021". Naughty Dog. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- ↑ Marks, Tom (June 9, 2022). "The Last of Us Multiplayer Game Has a Story, and Is 'As Big' as Other Naughty Dog Games". IGN. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- ↑ Snyder, Rochelle (June 9, 2022). "The Growing Future of The Last Of Us". Naughty Dog. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- ↑ Druckmann, Neil [@Neil_Druckmann] (September 26, 2022). "we will give a big update on the ambitious TLoU Online game in 2023" (Tweet). Retrieved June 9, 2022 - via Twitter.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Druckmann, Neil (January 4, 2023). "Reflecting on a Big Year to Come for The Last of Us". Naughty Dog. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
- ↑ Schreier, Jason (May 26, 2023). "'Last of Us' Multiplayer Video Game Faces Setbacks at Sony". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ↑ Naughty Dog [@Naughty_Dog] (May 26, 2023). "We know many of you have been looking forward to hearing more about our The Last of Us multiplayer game." (Tweet). Retrieved June 4, 2023 - via Twitter.
- ↑ Morbhatt, Muskan (June 10, 2023). "The Last of Us Multiplayer Delay: Silver Lining for Remasters?". OtakuZasshi. Retrieved June 10, 2023.