We have a new rumor about the state of The Last Of Us multiplayer from a new source. The game is reportedly cancelled, but the devil is in the details.
03.10.2023 - 12:39 / wccftech.com / Jason Schreier / Neil Druckmann / Last Of Us
Naughty Dog, the renowned Santa Monica-based game development studio owned by Sony, is cutting jobs, albeit not internally. The news comes from a fresh Kotaku report. Citing anonymous sources, it reveals that at least 25 contract workers were cut last week, mostly in the quality assurance department (though art and production teams were also reportedly affected in some capacity). The report also says the affected employees received pressure not to disclose the news. They won't get any severance, either. Their contracts expire at the end of this month, and they are expected to keep working until then.
This is the first time we hear of layoffs at Naughty Dog, though the full-time staff is reportedly still the same at around 400 employees. The layoffs may be related to the struggling development of the standalone The Last of Us multiplayer game. Fans had been waiting for it ever since Naughty Dog revealed its multiplayer ambitions were much bigger than the Factions mode included with the first The Last of Us, and as such, a standalone game would be produced while The Last of Us Part II was single player only.
Last year, series creator Neil Druckmann started speaking publicly about the game, and he later claimed Naughty Dog would finally unveil it in 2023. However, around four months ago, the studio said the standalone The Last of Us multiplayer game wasn't ready to be shown. On that same day, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier revealed that the project had been scaled down after receiving a negative evaluation from Bungie on its potential to engage players over a long time. Kotaku's report also says that one source reckons the game is 'basically on ice' at this point.
Naughty Dog is undergoing a Studio Leadership restructuring, too, following co-president Evan Wells's decision to leave the company at the end of 2023 after 25 years of service.
The studio joins many others who laid off employees in the past year, including Microsoft, Riot Games, Embracer Group, Epic Games, BioWare, Striking Distance Studios, and Ascendant Studios.
We have a new rumor about the state of The Last Of Us multiplayer from a new source. The game is reportedly cancelled, but the devil is in the details.
Beating Marcus and saving Isobel in is a divisive moment in Act 2 of the CRPG. The Last Light Inn presents itself for the first time when you venture into Act 2 and stumble upon a few Harpers that are making their way through the Shadow-Cursed Lands. How you will interact with them and the residents of the only haven in the region is entirely up to you, as you can be running an evil playthrough in . Regardless, a pivotal moment in the Last Light Inn will be vital to the rest of your time in Act 2.
VR MMORPG Zenith: The Last City , will get its next major update, Might and Mastery, tomorrow, October 10th, on the same day Zenith launches on Meta Quest 3. The update features major overhauls to the skill progression system, godstones, More build options and visual progression, a new leaderboard system, and improvements to the early game in Skyland.
The Last of Us Part II might be getting a remaster, as accidentally stated by a developer at Naughty Dog. First spotted by Resetera users, Lead Outsource Artist Mark Pajarillo referenced the version in a now-updated LinkedIn experience post. “Responsible for overseeing the production of all outsourced environment art assets, weapons and interactive props for two iconic titles The Last of Us: Part One and The Last of Us 2: Remastered,” the original post read, proving its existence. Hints of an enhanced PS5 version first dropped in July, when composer Gustavo Santaolalla alluded to some new features being added to the remaster.
Zenith: The Last City ’s next major update, “Might and Mastery” is coming. The update that will revamp the whole skill system, add leaderboards, change godstones, and add a number of fixes and quality of life changes.
The Last of Us Part II is still one of the most visually-impressive games ever released, and yet, oddly, despite releasing only months before the launch of the PS5, the game has never been properly updated for Sony’s latest console. Or ported to PC, for that matter. No, The Last of Us Part II remains stranded on creaky old PS4 hardware to this day.
The Last of Us 2: Remastered has been spotted on the LinkedIn profile of a Naughty Dog developer.
It appears The Last of Us 2: Remastered is on the way, as accidentally confirmed by one of Naughty Dog's developers.
A high-level designer leaves Naughty Dog as the company pauses development of the untitled multiplayer game. Most of the studio’s recent layoffs targeted part-time employees from the quality assurance department. Now the game’s Principal Monetization Designer, Anders Howard, has also left the company.
A developer brought in to work on the upcoming The Last of Us multiplayer game has left Naughty Dog after less than a year.
Naughty Dog’s attempts to create a live service multiplayer game set in the Last of Us universe don’t seem to be working out too well. Recent reports have claimed that the developer’s standalone multiplayer The Last of Us project has been put “on ice”, which in turn followed reports from earlier in the year that the project’s development team had been scaled back after an internal re-evaluation by Sony.
The Last of Us maker Naughty Dog is reportedly among the latest game studios to be hit with layoffs. As per Kotaku, the first-party PlayStation studio is cutting off at least 25 developers, with the most affected members being quality assurance (QA) testers, whose contracts have been shortened. Affected workers are expected to continue working until the end of October, and they allegedly won't be receiving any severance payments. Turns out, the full-time staff — last recorded headcount being 400+ in July — are not being laid off, with employees in general being ‘pressured' to keep the news internal.