The Last of Us Online

Concept art of *The Last of Us Online*, shared in June 2022 to promote the game

***The Last of Us Online*** is a cancelled online third-person shooter video game that was developed by Naughty Dog and was to be published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for its PlayStation line of consoles. A spin-off to 2020's *The Last of Us Part II*, *The Last of Us Online* was part of *The Last of Us*.

*The Last of Us Online* took place in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco, and was to feature a narrative and a new cast of characters separated from the numbered *The Last of Us* titles.

The game originally began as a "Factions" multiplayer mode to *Part II* akin to previous Naughty Dog games which included multiplayer modes, and was meant to build upon the first *The Last of Us*' Factions mode. By 2019, as development for *Part II* required more resources, Naughty Dog decided to launch the multiplayer after the base game. By 2022, the game transitioned into a standalone release. By May 2023, development was scaled back following feedback from Bungie on the game's ability to sustain its longevity.

In December 2023, Naughty Dog announced its decision to cancel *The Last of Us Online*.

## Development

### Concept and public acknowledgment

Development on *The Last of Us Part II* began in 2014, and a multiplayer mode akin to the first game's "Factions" mode was meant to be included. As of 2018, *The Last of Us Part II* was still planned to include a Factions mode. However, due to the scope of its single-player counterpart and the growing plans of the multiplayer mode, Naughty Dog decided to make *Part II* a single-player only title by September 2019. According to Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann, by June 2022, the now-standalone multiplayer title has been in development for two years. Game designers Anthony Newman and Vinit Agarwal, alongside writer Joseph Pettinati, were chosen to lead the project as veterans of *The Last of Us* franchise.

Naughty Dog co-president and *The Last of Us Part II* director Neil Druckmann acknowledged the game's existence at Summer Game Fest in June 2022, confirming it becoming a standalone release and sharing the first official artwork from the game. Druckmann confirmed that Naughty Dog will share more about the game in 2023, though no title was announced at the time.

In January 2023, Naughty Dog shared a second concept art from the title as part of a celebration to accommodate the tenth anniversary of the franchise; at the time, Naughty Dog promised to share more information about the game later that year.

### Cancellation

A report from *Bloomberg* in May 2023 claimed that development on the multiplayer game was scaled back following evaluation from fellow Sony subsidiary Bungie, which questioned the game's ability to sustain player engagement for long-term purposes. A report from Kotaku in October of the same year claimed that following layoffs, plans for the game were put "on ice".

On December 15, 2023, Naughty Dog announced its decision to cancel *The Last of Us Online*, citing that the game's scope and the resources necessary to maintain a live-service title would impact its development of single-player titles; in the same statement, Naughty Dog confirmed it was developing several single-player video games.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2022/06/09/last-of-us-multiplayer-story-characters-san-francisco/
2. ↑ https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-last-of-us-2-has-multiplayer-naughty-dog-confi/1100-6459784/
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/Naughty\_Dog/status/1177392945458286595
4. ↑ https://www.naughtydog.com/blog/the\_last\_of\_us\_10th\_anniversary\_kickoff
5. ↑ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-26/-last-of-us-multiplayer-video-game-faces-setbacks-at-sony
6. ↑ https://kotaku.com/naughty-dog-ps5-playstation-sony-last-us-part-3-layoffs-1850893794
7. ↑ https://www.naughtydog.com/blog/an\_update\_on\_the\_last\_of\_us\_online
8. ↑ https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/14/24002141/naughty-dog-the-last-of-us-online-multiplayer-canceled