Summary
Naughty Dog shared some disappointing news about the cancelation of itsLast of Usmultiplayer game and why it chose to stop development on it. The reasoning makes absolute sense and it’s great to hear that Naughty Dog won’t be stretching itself thin to meet a mandate it isn’t sure it can execute, but of course it will always be upsetting that players never got their hands on what could’ve ended up being a fantastic live-service experience withThe Last of Us Online. Naughty Dog also shouldn’t need to appease fans now that this news has broken, but it once again reminded everyone that it still has multiple games in the works.
It’s clear now that Naughty Dog will only develop single-player games and that’s exciting considering it’s what has led to the studio’s successes.Unchartedpaved the way forThe Last of Us’ success, for example, and both franchises are still incredibly popular with recent live-action adaptations. Naughty Dog doesn’t seem to have any plans to reviveUnchartednow that Nathan Drake has had a beautiful narrative bookend, however, whileThe Last of Usmay have a long road ahead of it. Even so, a new IP from Naughty Dog might always be more attractive than yet anotherLast of Usgame.
Naughty Dog’s Roadmap Ambiguity Makes New Games and IPs More Thrilling
The Last of Us Part 3 is Inevitable and Therefore Unremarkable
The Last of Us Part 3has the potential to have a massive impact on the gaming industry and be one of the greatest games Naughty Dog has put out, but in the time leading up to its official announcement it’ll never be questionable whether Naughty Dog is actually going to be working on it, at least not like it was forPart 2. Nobody believed that aPart 2was inevitable when it was announced because the original game had ended on a note that was as ambiguous as it was conclusive, and finishing the story there would have made sense without Naughty Dog ever having to exhume it.
It wasn’t until late 2016 that the sequel was officially announced, which was only a couple of years after the original’s remaster on PS4, butPart 2wouldn’t end up releasing until 2020. It’s expected that aPart 3will arrive in the same span of time, especiallynow that Naughty Dog doesn’t need to divert attention toThe Last of Us Online, but furthermore it seems inevitable that aPart 3is in the works because the franchise has never been more popular.Part 2ends as conclusively asPart 1, and yet knowing that a live-action HBO adaptation is hot on the sequel’s heels must be a nudge that Naughty Dog feels in its back to continue the story before HBO is all caught up with nothing to adapt.
Naughty Dog’s Needed Something Besides Uncharted and The Last of Us for a Decade
The Last of Usonly has two installments, and between them there will have been two remasters and a ground-up remake. This time next monthThe Last of Us Part 2’s remaster will be available and the series will be fully caught up on current-gen, leaving nothing more to remaster or remake from the franchise until the next PlayStation console arrives.
In the meantime, Naughty Dog would’ve been releasing its standalone multiplayer game at some point in the future if it hadn’t been canceled, but the franchise will continue in single-player games. Rather, becauseNaughty Dog has repeatedly shared that it has multiple games in the works, it is fair to assume that not all of them are a part ofThe Last of Us’ franchise.
It’ll be incredible to see what Naughty Dog can achieve beyondThe Last of Usand not have its work solely defined by that IP, though it’s unclear if Naughty Dog has a returning IP in the pipeline or exclusively new ones it’s working on.UnchartedandThe Last of Ushave carried Naughty Dog for more than a decade now and something new amid its multiple games in development would be wholly refreshing, especially if it’s as fascinating of a premise asa Punisher game developed by Naughty Dog.
The Last of Us Part 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Play the winner of over 300 Game of the Year awards, remastered for the PlayStation®5 console. Relive or play for the first time Ellie and Abby’s story, now with graphical enhancements, new gameplay modes like the roguelike survival experience No Return, full DualSense® wireless controller integration, and more. Five years after their dangerous journey across the post-pandemic United States, Ellie and Joel have settled down in Jackson, Wyoming. Living amongst a thriving community of survivors has allowed them peace and stability, despite the constant threat of the infected and other, more desperate survivors. When a violent event disrupts that peace, Ellie embarks on a relentless journey to carry out justice and find closur
