The Last of Us Online was nearly done when Naughty Dog decided to cancel it. Find out why the post-apocalyptic zombie multiplayer got shut down and what the former director’s reaction to it was.
The Last of Us Online 80% Done Before Development Shut Down
"Very Close to Done" Says Former Naughty Dog Game Director
The Last of Us Online, the supposed multiplayer title based on the titular post-zombie apocalypse series, was apparently close to being finished before it was canceled. In an interview on the Lance E. Lee Podcast, former Naughty Dog Game Director Vinit Agarwal said the co-op project was "very, very close to done," noting it was 80% completed.
While work on The Last of Us Online started in 2016, Sony funneled more resources into the project during the 2020 pandemic to meet the skyrocketing demand for online play. This momentum shifted as the world reopened between 2022 and 2023, which ultimately cut funding as players returned to their daily jobs and no longer had the same abundance of time to dedicate to gaming.
"The economy also went down. And so all that money that flooded into the game industry was not going to be able to sustain it, because money was getting pulled out, they had to also kind of collapse the spending they spent. They overspent basically. They were overzealous," Agarwal said.
Because of this, the studio had to make the hard decision to choose between their experimental project (The Last of Us Online), or Neil Druckman’s next big title, which turned out to be Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
Cancelled at the Last Minute
In December 2023, Naughty Dog announced the cancellation of The Last of Us Online. According to an official statement on their website, the studio explained that launching and supporting such a massive live-service title would require a total redirection of their resources.
To avoid compromising the development of the single-player, narrative-driven games for which they are known, Naughty Dog ultimately chose to cease production on the project. For Agarwal, the team was truly heartbroken as they poured in seven years of time and effort in creating this ambitious title.
"And that was a devastating moment for me because I spent seven years working on that game and it was soul crushing. I remember honestly finding out that [it] was getting cancelled 24 hours before it was announced to the public," he said.
A year later, during The Game Awards 2024, Naughty Dog unveiled Intergalactic as their newest IP. While details regarding the sci-fi RPG remain scarce, expectations are high. Fans are anticipating a massive achievement from the studio, especially considering Naughty Dog chose to sacrifice a major project to bring this new vision to life.
Sources:
FROM NAUGHTY DOG TO TOKYO: BUILDING GAMES WITH SOUL - Vinit Agarwal - LELPodcast - Episode 456
An Update on The Last of Us Online
