The Last of Us Online Was "Almost 80% Complete" When it Got Cancelled, Says Former Director Vinit Agarwal, the former director of The Last of Us Online, revealed that the project was nearly 80% finished before its cancellation, shedding light on the challenges faced by Naughty Dog as it navigated Sony’s push for live service games. Agarwal shared his insights during an interview on the Lance E. Lee Podcast, discussing the development of the game, its cancellation, and the broader context of Sony’s strategic shift toward multiplayer titles. The project, known internally as Factions, was one of several initiatives aimed at creating sustainable revenue streams for the PlayStation platform, a move that saw the studio prioritize multiplayer games over traditional single-player experiences. Agarwal described how the game industry experienced a surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, with online multiplayer titles gaining traction as players sought ways to connect with friends remotely. This trend prompted Sony to invest heavily in live service games, a strategy that ultimately led to the cancellation of The Last of Us Online. According to Agarwal, work on the title began in 2016, but it wasn’t until the completion of The Last of Us Part II that the project received the necessary attention and financial backing. The timing coincided with Sony’s broader push to expand its portfolio of multiplayer games, which created a dilemma for the studio: allocate resources to the experimental Factions project or focus on the more commercially viable single-player game. The decision to prioritize The Last of Us Part II over Factions was a significant blow for Agarwal, who believed the multiplayer project had the potential to be a major success.#sony #vinit_agarwal #the_last_of_us_online #naughty_dog #factions
