The Last of Us multiplayer game has reportedly been scaled back

Sony has reportedly scaled back the size of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us multiplayer game, following an evaluation of the project by the platform holder and newly-acquired Bungie.

According to Bloomberg, the number of people working on the project has been reduced, partly as a result of the Destiny studio’s feedback as to its quality and viability.

“Bungie raised questions about the The Last of Us multiplayer project’s ability to keep players engaged for a long period of time, which led to the reassessment,” the Bloomberg report claims.

According to the publication, while the game has not been cancelled, many of its developers have been moved to other projects and a small group remains while Sony re-evaluates its direction.

Shortly before the Bloomberg report’s publication, Naughty Dog seemingly pre-empted the story with a statement on social media, in which it indicated that The Last of Us multiplayer game would require more time in development.

“As development has continued, we’ve realised what is best for the game is to give it more time,” the studio stated. “Out team will continue to work on the project, as well as our other games in development, including a brand new single-player experience”.

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— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) May 26, 2023

Earlier this week, Sony Interactive Entertainment revealed that it’s using Bungie to ‘rigorously’ vet its many in-development live service games.

During a business webcast on Tuesday, SIE reiterated that it’s planning to have 12 live service titles in the market by its fiscal year ending in March 2026 – up from three during its last business year ended this March.

And Sony says it has made Destiny studio Bungie – which it acquired last summer for $3.6 billion – an integral part of ensuring these titles have the best chance of success, by taking learnings from the studio’s wealth of experience in the genre.

The timing of this disclosure is notable, considering a live service game in development at PlayStation-backed Deviation Games was recently reported to have been cancelled.