The Last of Us Online Was a Massive Project, Not a Side Gig, Costing Hundreds of Millions
New details have emerged painting a much clearer picture of just how significant The Last of Us Online was before Naughty Dog pulled the plug on the project. Far from being a peripheral side project, the cancelled multiplayer game consumed a substantial portion of the studio's resources, reportedly costing hundreds of millions of dollars in development before it was scrapped. The scale of the undertaking goes a long way toward explaining why Naughty Dog has not released a brand new game since The Last of Us Part II in 2020.
Perhaps most telling is what happened to the team after the cancellation. According to new reporting, the majority of the staff who had been working on The Last of Us Online transitioned directly onto Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, Naughty Dog's next ambitious title. That pipeline of talent underscores just how large and well-staffed the multiplayer project had become, and reinforces the idea that its cancellation was a significant strategic pivot for the studio rather than a minor course correction.
Key Insights
- 1The Last of Us Online was not a small or secondary project, it was a major studio-wide undertaking at Naughty Dog.
- 2The cancelled multiplayer game reportedly cost hundreds of millions of dollars to develop before being scrapped.
- 3The majority of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet's team came directly from The Last of Us Online after its cancellation.
- 4The scale of the project explains why Naughty Dog has gone over five years without releasing a brand new game.
- 5The cancellation now looks less like a quiet shutdown and more like a significant strategic pivot for the studio.
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