Naughty Dog, the renowned developer behind franchises like Uncharted and The Last of Us, has released a statement regarding their multiplayer title set in The Last of Us universe. In the post, the developer says it needs more time than originally forecast for the multiplayer project, but softens the blow by teasing an unannounced, single-player-focused game.
“We know many of you were eager to hear more about our multiplayer game The Last of Us,” the statement read. “We’re incredibly proud of the work our studio has done thus far, but as development has continued, we’ve realized that it’s in the best interest of the game to give it more time. Our team will continue to work on the project, as well as our other games in development, including a new single player experience – we look forward to sharing more soon. We are grateful to our fantastic community for their support – thank you for your passion for our games, continue to drive us forward.”
— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) May 26, 2023
This statement comes on the heels of a report from bloomberg, who reported problems in the development of the title. According to the report, the development team has been reduced while the studio leadership decides on a direction.
This multiplayer project was originally developed as a mode for The Last of Us Part II, similar to the multiplayer mode in the original The Last of Us. However, as the scope of the single-player campaign and multiplayer expanded, Naughty Dog called for prioritizing the single-player campaign, which came out in 2020. In June 2022, Naughty Dog announced that the component multiplayer was now an independent project and he shared a piece of concept art (above). Earlier this year, Naughty Dog released another new piece of concept art (below), and promised more details on the standalone multiplayer project later this year.
Naughty Dog’s most recent all-new game, 2020’s The Last of Us Part II, received universal critical acclaim with a 93 on Metacritic, but has proven divisive among gamers. In the time since that release, Naughty Dog released the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, which included remastered versions of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, and The Last of Us Part I, a remake of The Last . of Us and The Last of Us: Left Behind. Perhaps the biggest impact The Last of Us has had in 2023 was the first season of the HBO series starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, which garnered widespread acclaim.
There’s no telling when we’ll hear more from Naughty Dog about this multiplayer game or the single-player project it mentions in this statement, but with this week’s PlayStation Showcase not mentioning any of the studio’s projects, it could be a while. before we know substantial details.