The Last of Us Online

The Last of Us Online, also known as Factions, was canceled in recent months. This project was initiated by Sony, which aimed to create several live service titles to boost revenue. The game did not move past the development phase as Naughty Dog chose to take different directions for its future. The decision to cancel the title may have come quickly, and the game was very close to its release before the halt that could have ended the franchise.

Project Director's Words

During a podcast, Vinit Agarwal, former game director of the project, provided some insights into the cancellation of The Last of Us Online. The title was very close to completion, as the initial development phase had long been surpassed. According to Agarwal, the game was 80% complete. At one point, with interest in live service titles declining, Naughty Dog had to make a decision about its future and chose to cancel The Last of Us Online. Agarwal was informed the day before the official announcement. Here are his words:

"Between the development of this game [The Last of Us Online] and the one directed by Neil Druckmann, the company's president, the choice was between the president and the president. So, of course, you can understand what happened. They had to choose between the game that represented the studio's only source of revenue and this experimental game I was working on, which I believed would have been a great success, but unfortunately never saw the light of day."