Summary

  • The cancellation of The Last of Us Online was disappointing for fans of Factions.
  • Helldivers 2 set a new standard for live service gaming, making Naughty Dog's cancellation of TLOU online seem premature let alone disappointing.
  • Naughty Dog's self-imposed ultimatum means it will continue working exclusively on single-player games.

One of the biggest losses of last year was the cancellation of Naughty Dog's ambitious online version of The Last of Us which would have brought a new multiplayer title to the franchise. As The Last of Us has grown in popularity through the years, the cancellation of such an ambitious project was disappointing to see, and with the recent success of Helldivers 2, it seems as though Naughty Dog may have made the wrong move.

Helldivers 2 has been one of the biggest surprises of the year so far. Arrowhead Game Studios has pulled off something truly special that much larger studios have tried and failed at when it comes to the live service model. With the growing live service fatigue growing among many gamers, Helldivers 2 has become the golden standard for a live service experience. Following The Last of Us Online's disappointing cancellation, it's now clear that Naughty Dog could have had something just as special on its hands.

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The Last of Us Online Could Have Been A Game Changer

The cancellation of The Last of Us Online was especially disappointing for fans of Factions, the multiplayer mode that was available in the first game.

Naughty Dog May Have Scrapped The Project Too Soon

Although Naughty Dog's reasoning behind canceling The Last of Us Online is understandable, the studio may have been a little too quick to completely retire the idea. The main reason behind ending development for the game was due to the ambition of the title. Naughty Dog claimed that the studio was unable to deliver on its promises due to the sheer size of the project, and as a studio that also works on massive AAA single-player games that would've been impossible to juggle.

Naughty Dog is also a much larger studio than Arrowhead Game Studios. The latter has only a fraction of the employees Naughty Dog has, and if a small developer could pull off something as impressive as Helldivers 2, it's hard to imagine that Naughty Dog couldn't have done something similar based around the Last of Us universe, at least with an internal department like Guerrilla is apparently employing for its own multiplayer endeavor. Although Naughty Dog has a solid track record of narrative-driven single-player games, it would have been interesting to see how the studio approached a new multiplayer experience after experimenting with Factions.

What Could Have Been for TLOU's Online Game

Knowing how great Naughty Dog is at crafting compelling worlds with the likes of The Last of Us and Uncharted, it's sad to think of what could have been when it comes to a live service approach. Helldivers 2 has managed something impressive, and it's hard to believe that Naughty Dog couldn't have done something similar. There was only a little information given about what The Last of Us Online would hold, but it was pretty exciting to imagine.

Despite the game's potential, it seems as though The Last of Us Online will be added to the list of games that were canceled before they got to truly see the light of day. As speculation grows regarding the future of the Last of Us franchise, Naughty Dog can at least focus on narrative-driven titles as a way to bounce back from having to cancel such an interesting live-service experience.

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The Last Of Us Part II Remastered Tag Page Cover Art
The Last Of Us Part II Remastered
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Released
January 19, 2024
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
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ESRB
M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
Developer(s)
Naughty Dog
Publisher(s)
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Franchise
The Last of Us
Platform(s)
PlayStation 5
Genre(s)
Action-Adventure
Metascore
90
PS Plus Availability
N/A
the last of us part 2 remastered cover art
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