A leaked screenshot of Sony Interactive Entertainment and Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Online has revealed new details regarding the now canceled title.
Today, Naughty Dog announced that its multiplayer project, The Last of Us Online, has been canceled. The multiplayer team has been in pre-production with the game since The Last of Us Part II had been in the works. In ramping up to full production, the project got bigger in terms of scope.
According to Naughty Dog, in order to release and support The Last of Us Online, the studio would have to put all its studio resources behind supporting post launch content for years to come, severely impacting development on future single-player games. As such, the developer had two paths in front of it: become a solely live service games studio or continue to focus on single-player narrative games that have defined Naughty Dog’s heritage. It opted for the latter.
The Last of Us Online Screenshot Leaked
A screenshot from the menu screen in the canceled The Las of Us Online was leaked by Dusk Golem, who is known for his connections in the game industry. It reveals a store and battlepass, and Seasons, suggestion similar micro-transcation hooks seen in other popular live service games like Fortnite and Call of Duty. The screenshot can be seen below.
Progression appears to be similar to the one seem in the original Factions multiplayer mode in 2013’s The Last of Us via the collection of stash. The menu screen also shows a “Jobs Board”, which likely involves challenges for the player to complete during multiplayer matches. The game mode visible in the screenshot is called “Survivor”, which is also the name of a mode in the original Factions multiplayer. In the latter, players competed against each other in rounds, with no respawn available. In the canceled game, it may be more akin to a battle royale mode, as hinted by the mention of a “Solos” squad type.
