Highlights
- Naughty Dog cancels The Last of Us multiplayer game to focus on single-player experiences, disappointing some fans but exciting others.
- Naughty Dog assures fans that they are working on more than one brand new single-player game, implying that these projects are not just remasters.
- Fans speculate that the highly anticipated third entry in The Last of Us series may be one of the upcoming games, along with the possibility of a new IP.
Naughty Dog already has more than one “brand new” single-player game in the works. The California-based game studio recently announced that development of The Last of Us multiplayer game has been officially cancelled, citing a desire to focus on single-player experiences rather than allocate resources for indefinitely supporting a live-service title.
While this news disappointed many fans who had been looking forward to experiencing the unique post-apocalyptic world of The Last of Us with their friends, others reacted with excitement. In recent years, it seems many studios with amazing single-player, narrative-based games under their belts have turned to making live-service titles for financial reasons. So receiving confirmation that Naughty Dog will stay focused on rich, single-player stories is encouraging.
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However, the announcement was also met with skepticism. In recent years, Naughty Dog has seemed intent on remastering and rereleasing the two Last of Us games over and over. But the statement released by the company states that there is already “more than one ambitious, brand new single player game that we’re working on here at Naughty Dog.” The words “brand new” imply that the projects currently on the table at the studio are not simply remasters of previously released games.
The Last of Us launched on PS3 in 2014 to critical acclaim, and a little over a year later, a remastered version was released for PS4. Then, in 2022, a full remake of The Last of Us came out. The Last of Us Part 2 is receiving similar treatment with a PS5 remaster of that game scheduled to release in 2024, just four years after the original game launched. This means that in 10 years, the only other full game released by Naughty Dog has been Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End in 2016, along with its two standalone expansions The Lost Legacy and Legacy of Thieves Collection.
We have more than one ambitious, brand new single player game that we’re working on here at Naughty Dog.
Of course, one of the “brand new” games is likely the highly anticipated third entry in The Last of Us series, which has long been rumored to be in development. But fans have also been clamoring for another Uncharted game, despite Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann stating that the studio is “moving on” from the series.
The developer has two other highly successful franchises to dip into as well: Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter. Granted, Naughty Dog hasn’t been involved in a Crash Bandicoot game since 1999, but a fourth entry in the Jak and Daxter franchise would be very well received. And the announcement of an all-new IP, perhaps the rumored Naughty Dog sci-fi game, would undoubtedly be greeted with enthusiasm from fans.
