The Last of Us Online has been cancelled

[TrophyChief]

Scale down on what's already there and add a new MP mode to TLOU Part 2 Remastered as additional DLC or add it to TLOU Part 3 when it comes out. Factions was fun and I'm sure there is a big enough audience to satiate. Right decision for sure but bummer to see the hopes of those who were looking forward to their online project dashed.

[Slava]

11 hours ago, DesmaBR said:

In ramping up to full production, the massive scope of our ambition became clear. To release and support The Last of Us Online we'd have to put all our studio resources behind supporting post launch content for years to come, severely impacting development on future single-player games. So, we had two paths in front of us: become a solely live service games studio or continue to focus on single-player narrative games that have defined Naughty Dog's heritage.

 

TLoU Online was described as ND's "most ambitious project" more than once. Druckmann kept talking about its massive scope. So it feels weird reading about this sudden realisation. I think there's more to this. But we may never know.

 

Regardless, a multiplayer game doesn't have to be a live service. TLoU Online didn't have to be a live service. What started as a multiplayer mode for Part II could've been good in its original form. 

 

It's not even the first Sony live service project that was cancelled this year.

[KOREAakaJDCR]

good

[skotafactor]

I’m surprised nobody mentioned the Day Before. Naughty Dog probably looked at what FNTASTIC was doing and realized there was no possible way they could compete. When the company shut down, that was probably the final nail for TLOU Online, too. I mean, if a company like FNTASTIC couldn’t pull it off, certainly Naughty Dog couldn’t either. 
 

/s

Edited December 15, 2023 by skotafactor

[VegaMan-X4]

Wow, something mildly original and different fell right off the conveyor belt. Shocking! 

[breakXedge]

I can't really care less because it always felt like an add-on to me. Not needed in the first game, glad they got rid of it in the second one. It was just a time when every game had to include any competitive multiplayer, even if it's just a nonsense like this one. It would be better a cooperative, horde mode, idk, but it was just another copy of the copy of the copy of....

[mega-tallica]

May have been an ambitious project but live service games are also a big risk and large commitment to make it work out long term. Especially from a developer who are predominantly known for single-player experiences. This would have sacrificed those single-player games so they could continue to support this online live service game for years to come. 

 

There's a part of me that is all for trying new things but there's also a part of me that says stick with what you're good at. Naughty Dog is known, for good reason, for their single-player experiences. Stick with that. 

 

The time is now right for Naughty Dog to create a new IP entirely. God knows they've milked The Last of Us and Uncharted enough. Translate that ambition that this online game had into a new, creative single-player idea that is different from anything they've done before. And obviously continue with The Last of Us and Uncharted too, can't abandon the staples entirely. 

 

It would also be a prime time to bring back Jak and Daxter. That nostalgia for the past is a big selling point right now and Jak and Daxter is synonymous with many peoples' childhoods. Any kind of resurgence of that franchise would be met with wide praise whether it be remakes of the original trilogy and/or a new game in the series entirely. They brought back Crash from the dead, they could totally do the same with Jak and Daxter with similar success. 

[Akrioz]

45 minutes ago, breakXedge said:

even if it's just a nonsense like this one. It would be better a cooperative, horde mode, idk, but it was just another copy of the copy of the copy of....

What are you even talking about. Factions was quite unique in it's meta progression. There wasn't a lot of multiplayer games/modes with focus on limited resources and crafting in 2013 either. Copy of what, exactly?

 

  

10 minutes ago, mega-tallica said:

It would also be a prime time to bring back Jak and Daxter. That nostalgia for the past is a big selling point right now and Jak and Daxter is synonymous with many peoples' childhoods. Any kind of resurgence of that franchise would be met with wide praise whether it be remakes of the original trilogy and/or a new game in the series entirely. They brought back Crash from the dead, they could totally do the same with Jak and Daxter with similar success. 

Modern Naughty dog won't touch something like Jak & Daxter ever again, imo. It is not what studio is about currently. 

Edited December 15, 2023 by Akrioz

[sepheroithisgod]

Just let TLoU IP rest. It's done. Make something else. 

[DrBloodmoney]

That's a pity, but the writing did seem to be on the walls for this one for quite some time.

 

I'm in two minds about how I feel about it being cancelled - on the one hand, Factions was a hell of a good multiplayer, and it would have been nice to play a follow-up...

...but on the other hand, Facitons was great, partly because it was an unexpected add-on to a great game - a nice addition, but not something that has to support itself as its own complete package.

 

I have a suspicion that, since a stand-alone Factions follow up would need to support itself, and couldn't rely on the support of a solid single-player campaign, it would almost assuredly have to go much more down the "monetisation" routes, and may have ended up being a little saturated and "GaaSy" as a result - our old friend Michael Transaction coming in and spoiling a good thing - and it losing the magic that made the original game's MP work so well.

 

 

Guess we'll never know now 

 

[Akrioz]

2 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said:

 

I have a suspicion that, since a stand-alone Factions follow up would need to support itself, and couldn't rely on the support of a solid single-player campaign, it would almost assuredly have to go much more down the "monetisation" routes, and may have ended up being a little saturated and "GaaSy" as a result - our old friend Michael Transaction coming in and spoiling a good thing - and it losing the magic that made the original game's MP work so well.

I am thinking that they would have tried to make it some kind of Battle Royale bullcrap. The core gameplay of TLoU kinda plays out well in that genre.

[mega-tallica]

3 minutes ago, Akrioz said:

Modern Naughty dog won't touch something like Jak & Daxter ever again, imo. It is not what studio is about currently. 

 

Because Daxter is too offensive to modern audiences? 

 

They could mute Daxter for all I care like they did Jak in the first game if that's their problem. I'd just like to see those games come back in some capacity. 

[ThatMuttGuy]

5 minutes ago, mega-tallica said:

 

Because Daxter is too offensive to modern audiences? 

 

They could mute Daxter for all I care like they did Jak in the first game if that's their problem. I'd just like to see those games come back in some capacity. 

 

I'm sure they mean they don't want to do platformers with wacky characters. They seem more focused on telling stories with realistic (or at least, more realistic) characters.

[mega-tallica]

1 minute ago, ThatMuttGuy said:

 

I'm sure they mean they don't want to do platformers with wacky characters. They seem more focused on telling stories with realistic (or at least, more realistic) characters.

 

Exactly, it would be something a little different from their usual formula. 

 

And anyway if that were the case, why are the making a Jak and Daxter movie then? A Jak and Daxter reboot was in the works before the original The Last of Us game came out in which the reboot got abandoned for. Still, tons of Jak and Daxter references remained in The Last of Us game. 

 

Crash came back and was successful. Granted, Naughty Dog doesn't own the Crash IP but still, that should tell them that whacky characters with unrealistic stories like Jak and Daxter can be highly successful and should not not be considered. Same with Spyro and Ratchet & Clank who also have seen recent revivals and success. 

 

According to Arne Meyer at Naughty Dog, the idea of reviving Jak and Daxter is not totally off the table but due to "circumstances" at Naughty Dog, it's not currently being considered. Take that for what you will. 

[ThatMuttGuy]

5 minutes ago, mega-tallica said:

 

Exactly, it would be something a little different from their usual formula. 

 

And anyway if that were the case, why are the making a Jak and Daxter movie then? A Jak and Daxter reboot was in the works before the original The Last of Us game came out in which the reboot got abandoned for. Still, tons of Jak and Daxter references remained in The Last of Us game. 

 

Crash came back and was successful. Granted, Naughty Dog doesn't own the Crash IP but still, that should tell them that whacky characters with unrealistic stories like Jak and Daxter can be highly successful and should not not be considered. Same with Spyro and Ratchet & Clank who also have seen recent revivals and success. 

 

According to Arne Meyer at Naughty Dog, the idea of reviving Jak and Daxter is not totally off the table but due to "circumstances" at Naughty Dog, it's not currently being considered. Take that for what you will. 

 

I didn't say platformers like that couldn't be successful. I just said it's not likely that ND wants to go back to them. They will probably make a new IP in the style of TLoU or Uncharted i.e. realistic based characters with a narrative. 

[breakXedge]

1 hour ago, Akrioz said:

What are you even talking about. Factions was quite unique in it's meta progression. There wasn't a lot of multiplayer games/modes with focus on limited resources and crafting in 2013 either. Copy of what, exactly?

 

You see it Unique. I see another multiplayer game, run, kill, run, kill. The "camp" and "survivors" were only dots in a map, you couldn't do anything with them. My point is, TLOU was a single player game. If you wanted to so something online related to the game, other cooperative modes could fit better. Play with your friends to fight and endless horde of enemies. Create a camp and fight agains other players, stealing resources or whatever. Or even pvp but with monsters in the arena, making the game more tlou-ish, having to hide, throw objects to lure the monsters to the other team, having to be careful of firing a single shot...

Edited December 15, 2023 by breakXedge

[mega-tallica]

27 minutes ago, ThatMuttGuy said:

 

I didn't say platformers like that couldn't be successful. I just said it's not likely that ND wants to go back to them. They will probably make a new IP in the style of TLoU or Uncharted i.e. realistic based characters with a narrative. 

 

I don't think so, if they're going to create a new IP and go that route, it's going to have to be something different than what they've already done before. If not, then what's the point of creating a new IP? May as well just perpetually make The Last of Us and Uncharted for the rest of their existence then if staying the same is the agenda. 

 

The sense that I get, from not only myself but from many others, is that there's a fatigue setting in. With not only the Naughty Dog formula, but the overall Sony formula. The realistic characters, the movie-esque scripts, the narrative-driven game experiences loaded with cutscenes, etc. That whole style that Naughty Dog really led and spear-headed with The Last of Us mainly has run its course and its gotten tiresome. Adding a little variety to the Sony 1st party lineup would be a good thing at this point to break up the redundancy we see at the top where most 1st party games are just derivatives of each other it feels like and all follow the same checklist. 

 

It would take one of the top developers like Naughty Dog to change that formula. Just a light-hearted, fun game would be perfect to break up all this seriousness. 😆

Edited December 15, 2023 by mega-tallica

[kidson2004]

Honestly I'm not surprised this was cancelled. It's the right move honestly. 

[XxIsa-GxX]

14 hours ago, BlindMango said:

All they have to do is look at any PS3/360 multiplayer game as a template

This probably explains why, all of a sudden, ones like EA is on a killing spree for the PS3 servers…

[shadaik]

I always thought TLoU with its heavily personal stories is just the completely wrong setting to have multiplayer, so: Good riddance!

[vegetollo7]

15 hours ago, MonaSaxPayne said:

definitely not surprised (or upset) by this announcement

 

now if only cockstar would do the same with GTA online

Never going to happen unfortunately. GTA online is a constant revenue stream and they will never let that go.

[Akrioz]

1 hour ago, breakXedge said:

I see another multiplayer game, run, kill, run, kill.

Yeah, let's boil down every TPS game to "you move around and shoot stuff".That's the shallowest take I've heard in a while. There is a lot of love for Factions in this thread alone and you don't see people fondly remembering Tomb Raider 2013 multiplayer in the same light, for example.

 

1 hour ago, mega-tallica said:

It would take one of the top developers like Naughty Dog to change that formula. Just a light-hearted, fun game would be perfect to break up all this seriousness.

Neil Druckman is in command, it won't happen no matter how hard people want it.

 

The stupidest thing out all of this is that they could have salvaged their work and put some kind of Factions into Part 2 Remastered and it would be great. But no, here's is roguelike because they are trendy now.

[Ac3dUd3-]

Never had any interest for this. I am glad Bungie came in and (likely) told them it wasn't worth it. They are best suited to Single Player games.

[Jacko_the_lad]

"I'm glad this got cancelled" is such a weird take.

 

Even if you're not interested in it, cheering on something new being cancelled is very strange, especially at a time when rehashing old games is so common.

[esstee11]

12 hours ago, olliebear66t said:

This makes no sense. Why does the online have to be live service and "supported for years to come"? Why not just release it as is.

 

Yup pretty much exactly what I was gonna say. I've always felt an MP game is fine as is. Like any SP game you know your maps and your characters and that's fine. All I need to be happy is for the servers to be up (for a good few years at least).

I know that's a minority viewpoint though. Which does make me a little sad about this news that we are not getting a game because of the apparent heavy strain continuous extra content in same live service game does, when I'm not even bothered about extra content, but I would of died happy if I just got factions 2. I mean I kinda get it. I'm just a little bummed out by it.

Oh well. 🤷‍♂️