The Last Of Us Factions Is Reportedly "On Ice"

thegamer.com:

The Last of Us Part 2 was supposed to get a Factions mode like the first game, pitting players against each other as they scramble for resources. However, it was delayed and repurposed into a standalone spin-off, but news has been scarce in the three years since it started development. We've heard it was scaled down and that Destiny 2 developer Bungie led an internal review that ended in negative results, but little else has surfaced.

Now, Kotaku reports that it's "basically on ice at this point". Contracts are being cut early for dozens of workers, with the majority of those affected being in quality assurance testing. In total, 25 developers have reportedly been laid off, but full-time staff appear to be unaffected.

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However, those who have been let go are not being offered severance, and remaining devs are allegedly being pressured to stay quiet. According to Kotaku, the contracts will now terminate at the end of October. Devs are expected to continue working until that time.

Earlier this year, reports surfaced that Sony was "reevaluating" the project while moving developers onto other things. Naughty Dog has developed multiplayer modes for Uncharted and The Last of Us in the past, but never a live-service game. They're standalone and continuously supported, coming with lofty expectations of regular, substantial updates and content, so it's an entirely different beast.

Sony bought Bungie not only for Destiny and its portfolio of other games, but its expertise in developing live-service titles to help PlayStation branch out and compete with the likes of Call of Duty and Fortnite. We quickly saw the results of this acquisition in its evaluation