The Last of Us: Now: The multiplayer project has officially stopped!

Unlike the first part, The Last of Us: Part II did not have a multiplayer section. Instead, a standalone multiplayer game based on the original game’s faction mode was supposed to be released, but that has now finally been halted.

After a number of rumors have surfaced in the past few weeks and months about the status of The Last of Us’ multiplayer project, Naughty Dog has now made a point. While insiders have already said that work on the title has been halted, there was still some hope as of recently that it could continue. Naughty Dog has officially buried that hope.

The studio has now posted an update on the official website confirming that work on The Last of Us Online has stopped. It now states unequivocally that “a very difficult decision has been made to halt development.”

“We know this news is difficult for many of you, especially the community committed to The Last of Us Factions and closely following our multiplayer ambitions. We are absolutely disappointed at the studio as we have been excited for the game to be in your hands,” he continued.

The multiplayer project was supposed to be officially revealed earlier this year, having only shown concept images and not any form of real gameplay. Naughty Dog has already abandoned this idea. The background of the setup is explained further:

“As full production ramped up, the sheer scale of our ambition became clear. In order to release and support The Last of Us Online, we had to put all of our studio resources into developing post-launch content for years to come. This could have significantly impacted our development.” “For future single-player games. So we had two choices: become a live-service-only game studio or continue to focus on creating narrative single-player games that continue the legacy Naughty Dog has defined so far.”

They are “very proud” of the work the team has done and have learned a lot too. The technology developed for the multiplayer project will be useful in future projects. At the same time, it’s worth being optimistic about Naughty Dog’s future, with the studio stating: “We’ve got more than just an ambitious brand-new single-player game working on here at Naughty Dog. We can’t wait to tell you more about what’s coming next – when we’re ready.” “

The Last of Us: Part II Remastered will be released on PlayStation 5 in January.