Late last year, Ramen VR announced that they will bring some major changes to Zenith: The Last City. Now, there’s a new devblog breaking down some of the changes and why they’re happening, along with a closed pre-alpha coming this weekend.
16.12.2023 - 16:17 / rockpapershotgun.com / Hiroki Totoki / Last Of Us
Naughty Dog have officially stopped development of The Last Of Us Online, a multiplayer game based on their celebrated McCarthyite (no, not that McCarthy - I mean the novelist) post-apocalyptic action-adventure. Announced in the dusty days of 2018 as a multiplayer mode for The Last Of Us: Part 2, it evolved into a standalone experience with new characters and a new setting, but Sony reportedly scaled the project back earlier this year. Naughty Dog have now formally called it quits, stating that supporting a live service project such as this would have “severely impacted” future single-player game projects. Sony never locked down platforms for The Last Of Us Online, but a PC release was surely on the cards, though I would have expected the game to launch first on PlayStation, as with the original Last Of Us and Uncharted 4.
"We know this news will be tough for many, especially our dedicated The Last of Us Factions community, who have been following our multiplayer ambitions ardently,” reads the statement. “We’re equally crushed at the studio as we were looking forward to putting it in your hands. We wanted to share with you some background of how we came to this decision.
"The multiplayer team has been in pre-production with this game since we were working on The Last of Us Part II – crafting an experience we felt was unique and had tremendous potential,” it continues. “As the multiplayer team iterated on their concept for The Last of Us Online during this time, their vision crystalized, the gameplay got more refined and satisfying, and we were enthusiastic about the direction in which we were headed.
"In ramping up to full production, the massive scope of our ambition became clear. To release and support The Last of Us Online we’d have to put all our studio resources behind supporting post launch content for years to come, severely impacting development on future single-player games. So, we had two paths in front of us: become a solely live service games studio or continue to focus on single-player narrative games that have defined Naughty Dog’s heritage."
The statement concludes by promising that "the learnings and investments in technology from this game will carry into how we develop our projects and will be invaluable in the direction we are headed as a studio”. It cheekily adds that “we have more than one ambitious, brand new single player game that we're working on here at Naughty Dog, and we cannot wait to share more about what comes next when we’re ready." Fingers crossed it's not another remake or remaster.
The news continues a theme from a financial call in November, in which Sony’s president Hiroki Totoki announced that the publisher would downsize its ambitions for live service
Late last year, Ramen VR announced that they will bring some major changes to Zenith: The Last City. Now, there’s a new devblog breaking down some of the changes and why they’re happening, along with a closed pre-alpha coming this weekend.
Publisher Forever Entertainment and developer MegaPixel Studio have announced the “Mercenaries” update for FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake, a free update due out in 2024 that adds new single-player scenarios, a local multiplayer hot-seat mode, new mercenaries, and a new commander character.
In a new blog published to the game’s official site, Andy Tsen, co-founder of Ramen VR, fully officially discussed the prospects of Zenith: The Last City’s 2.0 version. The blog also acknowledges that alpha playtests will be enacted soon.
Naughty Dog’s planned multiplayer game set in the world of The Last of Us is no more. The studio announced Thursday that it has “made the incredibly difficult decision to stop development on” what it’s been calling The Last of Us Online.
The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog has confirmed that more than one single-player game is in development at the studio.
The Last of Us multiplayer spin-off has effectively been canceled at Naughty Dog.
Naughty Dog has stopped development on The Last of Us Online.
Naughty Dog has cancelled The Last Of Us Online.
The Last of Us multiplayer game has been cancelled. In a blog post, developer Naughty Dog confirmed that the development on the promised online experience within the post-apocalyptic universe, which it was calling ‘The Last of Us Online,' has been stopped. The astonishing news comes just a month after game director Vinit Agarwal assured fans that the project was still happening despite the numerous reported setbacks, including the laying off of 25 employees. One can't simply release a live-service game into the wild and expect it to thrive. It desperately needs post-launch content for years to come, indirectly impacting a studio which is otherwise known for creating memorable single-player narratives.
Naughty Dog has announced that it has officially ended development on The Last of Us Online, with the studio explaining that the decision was made so it could continue to focus on crafting the narrative-driven single player experiences it’s known for. And interestingly enough, it turns out there are more than one of those games in development at Naughty Dog right now.
Naughty Dog officially canceled its planned multiplayer spin-off of The Last of Us today, ending months of speculation about the planned game's status. The reason given? It would come at the expense of the single-player games the studio creates.
The Last of Us won’t be returning to its multiplayer side after all. Naughty Dog confirmed today that it has stopped development on what it’s been calling The Last of Us Online, a multiplayer TLOU experience.