The Last of Us Multiplayer game’s cancellation may have partially been triggered by some ‘helpful’ and honest feedback that Bungie provided Naughty Dog. That’s according to journalist Jason Schreier, who had previously said that Bungie’s internal review of the multiplayer project led Naughty Dog to re-evaluate things.
Bungie didn’t demand the cancellation of The Last of Us multiplayer
Schreier made his comment in response to a follower on X who had misconstrued his original report. The user claimed that Bungie “told” Naughty Dog to cancel TLOU multiplayer, and bemoaned that a studio with few acclaimed games would dictate Naughty Dog, a developer known for making highly-rated games.
In the conversation that followed, Schreier clarified that Bungie provided “helpful” feedback to Naughty Dog, who then made the “smart” decision to cancel TLOU multiplayer.
That’s not what happened— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) August 1, 2024
People lamenting this cancellation should really look at the history of single-player studios pivoting to make service games such as Anthem, Suicide Squad, Marvel’s Avengers, Redfall, and so on— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) August 1, 2024
It’s hard to disagree with Schreier here. Naughty Dog’s expertise certainly isn’t live service, and dedicating resources to the project may have backfired and bled money. Although TLOU fans would have liked an online aspect similar to TLOU 1, that was never supposed to be the series’ main attraction.
Times have changed, and slapping on multiplayer portions to primarily single-player games is mostly a thing of the past.