Those who played the online multiplayer of Red Dead Redemption II and GTA V knew how entertaining it was to play with others. Unfortunately for fans of The Last of Us, they won't get to discover the world ravaged by Cordyceps with their friends as the online multiplayer has been canceled.
The Last of Us Online, Canceled
Naughty Dog undoubtedly created a masterpiece with the post-apocalyptic action-adventure video game, so much so that it has spawned a TV show. Braving a world full of Infected might've been fun with friends, but that's no longer happening.
The PlayStation studio announced that the online multiplayer has been canceled despite being in pre-production. Naughty Dog has been working on the online mode while they were developing The Last of Us Part II and were even excited about the direction they were headed.
Sadly, the studio did not have enough manpower to create The Last of Us Online while doing other projects. "[W]e'd have to put all our studio resources behind supporting post-launch content for years to come," Naughty Dog stated.
It would severely affect the development of future single-player games, and so between two decisions, the studio went with creating "narrative games that have defined Naughty Dog's heritage," as reported by The Verge.
If you're a fan of the studio's games, then this might even come as good news to you. The Uncharted franchise creator claims that it had more than one new single-player video game in development, so we can expect more from the studio.
The cancelation does not come as much of a surprise, especially since we already know that Naughty Dog reduced its workforce back in early October. With 25 developers laid off, the studio was spread even more thin especially since they revealed that they were working on more titles.
Could It Be The Last of Us Part III?
It's hard to say whether Naughty Dog will continue the story of Ellie. The first game was a massive hit as it followed Joel and Ellie on their mission to find the Fireflies, who had the resources to derive a cure from Ellie's immunity to Cordyceps.
(Spoilers ahead)
The second game had mixed feedback, as players were saddened and angered by an important character's death. Ultimately, the sequel's ending showed that Ellie showing mercy to Abby, and losing Dina as she chooses revenge over a family.
The ending gave a lot of potential for a follow-up. In fact, the creative director of the sequel, Neil Druckmann said that he has already created a story outline for a third game. Even with that, there is no news of The Last of Us Part III in development "yet," as per Dextero.
Druckmann said that their process is the same as they did with the previous games. "[I]f we can come up with a compelling story that has this universal message and statement about love, just as the first and second game did, then we'll tell that story."
