Of all of the potential reveals that many were hoping to see at this week’s PlayStation Showcase that didn’t eventuate in the end, one of the obvious one was Naughty Dog’s long-gestating The Last of Us multiplayer game. Now, following a report from Bloomberg around the status of the project and a Twitter update from Naughty Dog themselves, it seems the game might have hit a few snags on its long road to being ready.
According to four separate anonymous sources familiar with the project who spoke to Bloomberg, development on the TLOU multiplayer title has been slowed down, with the team working on it scaled back as Sony and Naughty Dog “reassess” the game’s quality and potential longevity, and “reevalute” its direction. Many on the team have reportedly already been moved to other projects, although it’s stressed that the game isn’t cancelled just yet.
Following this report, Naughty Dog also put out a statement which doesn’t address the claims in the Bloomberg story but asks fans to be patient as the team needs more time for the project, lending some credence to the claims. Naughty Dog also mentions the single-player project its working on, which is yet to be revealed. The statement reads:
“We know many of you have been looking forward to hearing more about our The Last of Us multiplayer game. We’re incredibly proud of the job our studio has done thus far, but as development has continued, we’ve realised what is best for the game is to give it more time.
“Our team will continue to work on the project, as well as our other games in development, including a brand new single-player experience: We look forward to sharing more soon.
“We’re grateful to our fantastic community for your support – thank you for your passion for our games, it continues to drive us.”
— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) May 26, 2023
