Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Online was more than just a “side project,” and it’s a big reason why the studio hasn’t had a brand new game since 2020.
According to Jason Schreier, The Last of Us Online was reportedly not a game that was buying the team time until Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. It was seen as a major release for the studio, as opposed to a mere side project. Schreier claimed that the majority of the team on Intergalactic actually came over after The Last of Us Online was scrapped.
As has been reported before, toward the end of its development, the team began to realize that once the multiplayer project came out, they couldn’t just release it and be done. It would require a lot of resources and time to be supported long term, slowing down or taking away attention from the studio’s beloved single-player projects. As a result, once the game was scrapped, it left Naughty Dog with a major gap in its release cycle. There hasn’t been a brand new title from the studio since The Last of Us Part 2, but Naughty Dog has multiple projects in the works now, which may prevent such a significant gap in the future.
As of right now, we know next to nothing about Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. It’s a project that Neil Druckmann has been leading for some time following the release of The Last of Us Part 2. It’s rumored to possibly release next year, potentially tying in with the release of the PS6, but nothing has been confirmed yet. As for the studio’s other games, some speculate they may be working on Uncharted 5 or The Last of Us Part 3. It will likely be years before we get definite answers for these, but the studio is currently hard at work on future projects.
Many fans were disappointed that The Last of Us Online was killed so close to the finish line. The Last of Us Part 1’s Factions multiplayer mode is cherished by fans of the series for its brutal, scrappy combat and unique approach to PvP gameplay. There’s nothing else quite like it, so there was hope that building an entire game around that concept and fleshing it out could be really special. Unfortunately, we’ll never know for sure, but people who played it behind closed doors had nothing but incredible things to say about the project.
The game was put into development after Naughty Dog chose to scrap multiplayer from The Last of Us Part 2. The team thought it would be better to focus on the single player aspect of the main game and give the multiplayer project more resources. As a result, the team spent seven years working on the title and the plug was reportedly pulled about 80% through development. Maybe one day we will get another Last of Us multiplayer game, but it seems unlikely.
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN’s news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.