Naughty Dog says The Last of Us multiplayer game needs "more time"

UPDATE 27/5/23: In a report released in the aftermath of Naughty Dog’s statement, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has shed additional light on the behind-the-scenes decision-making currently impacting The Last of Us multiplayer game.

According to Schreier, development on the long-in-the-works title has “slowed down” after Destiny developer Bungie – which has been individually assessing Sony’s many “games as a service” projects since its was acquired last year – raised concerns about The Last of Us multiplayer’s “ability to keep players engaged for a long period of time”.

As a result of this feedback, the Naughty Dog team working on the Last of Us multiplayer project is said to have been “scaled back”, leaving only a “small group” on the project while Sony re-evaluates its direction. Bloomberg’s sources say the game isn’t cancelled, but that many of its developers have now been moved to other projects.

ORIGINAL STORY 26/5/23: Naughty Dog has shared an update on its The Last of Us multiplayer title, saying it has “realised what is best for the game is to give it more time”. It’s also teased a new “brand-new single-player experience” currently in the works.