The multiplayer game The Last of Us Online was reportedly canceled just days before its official public unveiling.
We got some new details on the matter during an interview on Lance E. Lee‘s podcast. He explains that The Last of Us Online was funded during the boom in online gaming linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, a period during which Sony invested heavily in this sector.
However, the decline in spending on online games after things went back to normal following the crisis prompted studios to reevaluate their priorities. Naughty Dog then had to choose between continuing this multiplayer project or focusing on the next game led by Neil Druckmann, and ultimately chose the latter, which was deemed more central to the studio.
This abrupt cancellation also highlights the difficulties PlayStation has faced with its games-as-a-service strategy.
