This Article Was Updated by Andrea Trama on April 9, 2026
This article was updated by Andrea Trama on April 9, 2026, to include Neil Druckmann's tease for The Last of Us 3 and a new Uncharted rumor. It was first published on April 2.
The Last of Us Multiplayer Game Was "Very Close to Done"
A standalone multiplayer game developed by Naughty Dog and set in The Last of Us universe was reportedly 80% complete when the studio canceled the project in 2023. Development of The Last of Us Online began concurrently with The Last of Us Part II, as Naughty Dog sought to expand upon the original 2013 title’s multiplayer mode—Factions. Despite early momentum, the project proved overly ambitious and was ultimately discontinued after nearly seven years of development.
Although Naughty Dog is best known for critically acclaimed, narrative-driven single-player experiences—including The Last of Us and Uncharted—the studio has also achieved notable success with multiplayer offerings. Multiple Uncharted titles featured robust online multiplayer components, and the original 2013 The Last of Us launched with the Factions mode. PlayStation 3 server support for Factions ended in 2019, but the mode remains playable on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 via The Last of Us Remastered.
Building on Factions’ strong community reception, Naughty Dog pursued a full-scale, standalone multiplayer experience set in the same universe—dubbed The Last of Us Online. Announced in 2022, the project was described internally as an “extremely ambitious undertaking.” To meet its scale, the studio expanded its team significantly. However, the game was canceled in 2023—and its former director has since confirmed it was 80% complete at the time of cancellation.
On a recent episode of the Lance E. Lee Podcast (via Push Square), former Naughty Dog employee Vinit Agarwal stated that The Last of Us Online was “very, very close to done.” He clarified that the project reached 80% completion and that he contributed to it for nearly seven years, from 2016 through its 2023 cancellation. According to Agarwal, shifting financial priorities—particularly those influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic—played a decisive role: “During COVID, the games industry saw a huge growth because everyone was at home. So, in 2020, money was flooding into the gaming industry because people were playing a lot more games all of a sudden — what else are they gonna do?”
The global lockdown surge in online engagement prompted PlayStation to increase funding for The Last of Us Online. As Agarwal noted, “The game was doing really, really well internally.” Yet as pandemic restrictions eased and workplace routines resumed, Naughty Dog faced a strategic crossroads: continue investing in the experimental live-service title or prioritize Neil Druckmann’s next project—now confirmed as the highly anticipated PS5-exclusive Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. Agarwal described the decision as “a devastating moment,” adding: “I spent seven years working on that game. To find out that it was getting cancelled 24 hours before it was announced… it was just unfortunate.”
At the time of cancellation in 2023, Naughty Dog acknowledged that The Last of Us Online offered a “unique” experience with “tremendous potential.” However, as full production scaled, the studio recognized that the scope and long-term operational demands of a live-service title would require sustained resource allocation—diverting critical talent and bandwidth away from the single-player, story-focused projects that have defined Naughty Dog’s heritage.
One year after the cancellation, Naughty Dog unveiled Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet at The Game Awards 2024. Described as a bold new IP, the science fiction title features a star-studded cast and promises an “emotional, character-driven journey” anchored by what the studio calls its “wildest, most creative story yet.” As of now, no release date or window has been announced. With the title approaching its two-year anniversary since reveal, fans eagerly await further updates.
