Despite various reports and rumors that Naughty Dog’s upcoming multiplayer project set in The Last Of Us universe was canceled, the game’s director has now confirmed that it’s still being worked on.
Taking to Twitter earlier today, Vinit Agarwal, game director for The Last Of Us’ new multiplayer project, clarified that the game was still being worked on. “Yes, I’m still working on that game”, Agarwal simply said. The director didn’t go into any further detail, but it does shut down rumors that the project had been completely scrapped.
Back in May, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported that the multiplayer The Last Of Us game was facing setbacks. In the report, Schreier stated that the creators were reassessing “its quality and long-term viability”, leading to the team working on the project being scaled back. This then only left a small number of developers working on the project.
Following Bloomberg’s report, a statement by Naughty Dog was issued on the studio’s social media accounts. “As development has continued, we’ve realized what is best for the game is to give it more time”, the studio announced. Naughty Dog went on to say, “Our team will continue to work on the project, as well as our other games in development”.
Then came a report by Kotaku early last month, revealing that The Last Of Us studio Naughty Dog had laid off dozens of workers. According to the report, the majority of workers laid off worked in quality assurance testing, but art and production departments were also reportedly affected. Kotaku’s sources also stated that “at least 25 developers were part of the downsizing”.
Shortly after Kotaku’s report was published, a reliable insider and leaker by the name of ViewerAnon responded to a Twitter post about The Last Of Us’ new multiplayer project saying, “It’s dead, Jim”. Bundled with the recent layoffs at Naughty Dog, the rumor led many to believe that the project would never see the light of day.
However, the game’s director has now put those rumours to rest, confirming that players can still expect a multiplayer title set in The Last Of Us’ universe to release in the future.
The Last of Us Part II
- Franchise
- The Last of Us
- Platform(s)
- PS4, PS5
- Released
- June 19, 2020
- Developer(s)
- Naughty Dog