As you’ll probably recall, Naughty Dog made the decision to cancel its ambitious The Last of Us online multiplayer game in favour of the single player games it’s known for.
This has obviously not gone down particularly well with fans of the series, and particularly impassioned people are taking matters into their own hands with an online petition. Over on Change.org, you’ll find a petition to release The Last of Us’ multiplayer game.
It urges Naughty Dog and PlayStation to “fulfil their 2020 promise and release the next chapter of Factions online”, reasoning that doing so would “honor the dedication and passion of a committed fan base” and “capitalize on the evolving gaming market.”
At the time of writing, the petition has accumulated 685 signatures.
The original game’s Factions mode is often held up as a very well-executed multiplayer interpretation of The Last of Us, and fans were understandably excited by the prospect of a full, dedicated online game building on this idea.
After feedback from Bungie and realising the commitment needed to maintain a live service game like The Last of Us multiplayer, Naughty Dog elected to cancel the project entirely.
Instead, it’s focusing on its biggest strengths: single player action adventures, like the upcoming Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
Information about the Last of Us multiplayer project has slowly been trickling out in the wake of its cancellation, which has only added fuel to the fire.
For example, a former Naughty Dog developer said the game was 80 per cent complete, and had spent seven years in development. Other ex-staff members called it “the best multiplayer game they’ve ever played.”
All this has led to where we are now, with a petition for the game’s release attracting hundreds of supporters.
Unfortunately, these usually don’t gain the attention of relevant parties, let alone any sort of action. Unless this gains significant traction, we doubt it will move the needle.
It’s of course admirable to see fans making their voices heard, and we’d also love to see the game come to market, but we don’t imagine this is a decision Naughty Dog and Sony are likely to reverse.
