- Naughty Dog canceled The Last of Us Online after hearing feedback from Bungue about making live service games according to former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida
- The studio realized it wouldn't be able to make Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet if it continued with The Last of Us Online development
- Yoshida also revealed he played the game before it was scrapped
According to former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida, Naughty Dog couldn't have made Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet if its The Last of Us Online spin-off wasn't canceled.
Speaking in a recent interview with Sacred Symbols+ (via PushSquare), Yoshida discussed the decision to scrap the project, confirming that feedback offered by Destiny developer Bungie played a part in the cancelation. He also revealed that he was able to play the game before it was canceled and thought: "It was great".
"The idea for The Last of Us Online came from Naughty Dog and they really wanted to make it," Yoshida said. "But Bungie explained [to them] what it takes to make live service games, and Naughty Dog realized, 'Oops, we can’t do that! If we do it, we can’t make Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.' So that was a lack of foresight."
The Last of Us multiplayer was canceled in December 2023 after a reportedly four-year development. At the time, Naughty Dog explained that the decision to stop development on the title was "incredibly difficult", but it didn't want to "become a solely live service games studio" and that it would otherwise have to put all resources behind multiplayer projects.
"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," the developer said in its initial statement.
The studio announced its new single-player game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, last December. The trailer revealed it to be a new sci-fi franchise in development for PlayStation 5 and will star actor Tati Gabrielle as protagonist and bounty hunter Jordan A. Mun.
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