AMD seems to be reworking its specifications and branding strategy for existing and future Ryzen CPUs as it expands its hybrid chip fleet.
15.12.2023 - 01:01 / pcgamer.com / Neil Druckmann / Last Of Us / Will
The Last of Us Online has been cancelled after more than three years in development. Naughty Dog made the announcement today, arguing that the ambitious project would require the studio to pivot entirely to post-launch support (read: a live service future) rather than their raison d'etre: big budget singleplayer narrative adventures.
«In ramping up to full production, the massive scope of our ambition became clear,» wrote Naughty Dog in its announcement. «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 Last of Us Online was originally meant to launch alongside PS4 exclusive The Last of Us Part 2 in 2020, and would retain the format of the original game's beloved Factions mode. In 2022, Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann said the online mode's continued no-show was because it had «evolved beyond the team's ambition».
Remember: The Last of Us was a PS3 game, and in the mid 2010s it was standard practice to include a (usually perfunctory) online mode to bolster the shelf life of singleplayer games. Physical games still dominated and this was seen as a way to combat the secondhand market. Even in that context, Factions was unusually good, but in 2023 the landscape is entirely different: no one launches an online game without a big roadmap to keep players engaged, and a big team to keep the content mill turning.
Things started looking a little hairy in May. Naughty Dog announced another vague delay, which was complimented by a Bloomberg report which painted a bleak picture: apparently Sony had tasked Bungie with assessing the viability of The Last of Us Online, and the prognosis was not good.
Still, aside from Factions diehards it's unlikely that the core Naughty Dog fanbase will be too upset by this announcement. Especially since it includes reference to not one but two in-development singleplayer games. «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. 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.»
The Last of Us Part I released for PC earlier this year, and while its sequel has yet to arrive on our hallowed shores, an imminent PS5 remaster would suggest it'll probably happen at some point.
AMD seems to be reworking its specifications and branding strategy for existing and future Ryzen CPUs as it expands its hybrid chip fleet.
The fate of The Last of Us Online hung in the balance for a long while, with mixed signals being sent from Sony and Naughty Dog. It all started before the launch of The Last of Us Part II when it was announced that there would be no Factions multiplayer mode like in the original game.
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 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.
Alongside confirmation that it’s cancelled its hotly anticipated The Last of Us Multiplayer project, Naughty Dog sought to reassure fans by confirming it has “more than one” ambitious single player titles in the works. The studio admitted that, had it followed through its live service plans, it would have had to ditch the type of titles it’s known for – and ultimately, it wasn’t prepared to do that.
The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog has confirmed that more than one single-player game is in development at the studio.
Naughty Dog has confirmed that it has stopped development on its multiplayer The Last of Us title — known as The Last of Us Online — after concerns that it would impact the studio’s future single-player games.
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.
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.
Following reports that development on Naughty Dog's long-awaited The Last of Us multiplayer game had been «slowed down» earlier this year, the studio has announced it's officially pulling the plug on the project, saying it didn't want to become a «solely live service games studio».
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The Last of Us blew up in popularity when it first launched, so it wasn’t shocking to see a sequel release. However, some fans were a bit surprised that The Last of Us Part II Remastered is already hitting the marketplace. Despite being released just a few years ago, the remastered edition will likely sell quite a few units. Fans who want to dive into this game all over again might be surprised to see Ellie’s last name. It’s not a massive revelation. There have been a few instances in the past that point towards Ellie’s last name being Williams.