The creator of the hit video game The Last of Us, which was adapted into the hit HBO series of the same name earlier this year, announced that it would cancel development of its long-awaited online multiplayer version of the game.
“We realize that many of you have been anticipating news about the project we've called The Last of Us Online,” said developer Naughty Dog. in Thursday's announcement. “There's no easy way to say this: we've made the incredibly difficult decision to stop development on that game.”
The studio said the decision to abandon the game came after it became clear that it would have needed to commit resources “in the years to come”, at the expense of future single-player games.
Naughty Dog said it was faced with two options: “become solely a live-service game studio or continue to focus on the single-player narrative games that have defined Naughty Dog's heritage.” He chose the second option.
Work on The Last of Us Online began at the same time Naughty Dog began development on the single-player sequel, The Last of Us Part II.
That game was released in 2020.
Eager fans of the video game had a suspicion that The Last of Us Online was in trouble after the developer shared an update In May.
“We're incredibly proud of the work our studio has done so far, but as development continued, we realized it was best for the game to give it more time,” the update said.
The Last of Us follows a heartbroken father and a teenage girl as the unlikely pair traverse a post-apocalyptic America devastated by the global outbreak of a zombifying fungal infection.
The plot was critically acclaimed after the game's release in 2013, and the 2023 television adaptation starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey earned two dozen Emmy nominations.
The death of The Last of Us Online was a particular disappointment for fans of The Last of Us Factions, a limited in-game online multiplayer experience which was available in certain versions of the Last of Us game.
Naughty Dog's announcement sparked a mixed reaction from the online gaming community.
Some agreed that it would be better for the studio to focus on new single-player games, while others questioned the studio's apparent lack of foresight.
