Last of Us multiplayer title gets scaled down
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Sony has scaled back the development of The Last of Us multiplayer project.
As reported by Bloomberg, sources familiar with the matter said that the decision comes as the studio's title was reevaluated in terms of quality and viability. The evaluation led by Sony subsidiary, Bungie, questioned the Naughty Dog title's longtime engagement with users.
Following the assessment, staff working on the online game were reduced to a now small team, and other developers were reassigned to different roles.
Naughty Dog released a statement on Twitter announcing the update to its multiplayer title.
The studio said, "We know many of you have been looking forward to hearing more about our The Last of Us multiplayer game. We're incredibly proud of the job our studio has done thus far, but as development has continued, we've realized what is best for the game is to give it more time."
The announcement also included the news that it has begun working on a new single-player title.
"Our team will continue to work on the project, as well as our other games in development, including a brand new single-player experience; we look forward to sharing more soon," Naughty Dog added.
In January, game director Neil Druckmann said that The Last of Us part three was possible if the studio could create a compelling story.
Meanwhile, the game series has seen cross-media success.
During the month, The Last of Us HBO program's debut hit 4.7 million US viewers and became the second-largest HBO viewing premiere in the last 13 years.
It was then confirmed for a second season; a release schedule has yet to be announced.
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