For the first time in its history, the Naughty Dog studio had to make layoffs.
In any case, this is what we report Kotaku, while the 25 people affected were ordered not to disclose the information. Note that these layoffs were not carried out internally, but rather targeted contract workers. However, this unprecedented measure led to collateral damage, particularly for the Arlesian game that is the multiplayer game centered around the franchise. The Last of Us.
Naughty Dog infected
While Epic Games recently separated nearly 900 employees (or 16% of its payroll), another emblematic company in the video game industry seems to be struggling. The talented Naughty Dog studio, with around 400 employees and to which we owe the franchises Crash Bandicoot, Uncharted And The Last of Uswould be in bad shape.
So much so that layoffs were made, a sad first for the studio. 25 people working for Naughty Dog as contract workers were thus invited to leave at the end of October, apparently without any form of compensation. The affected departments are mainly on the quality assurance side, but the artistic and production teams have also been affected to a lesser extent.
Even though internal employees were not affected by this layoff operation, Naughty Dog’s projects paid the price. This is particularly the case of a certain standalone multiplayer of The Last of Uswith which the studio seems to have some difficulty.
A project with a difficult gestation
Remember, in 2019 (one year before the release of The Last of Us Part II), when Naughty Dog announced that it was working on a multiplayer mode for its flagship post-apocalyptic license. Fast forward a few years later, as we learned that it would eventually be a full-fledged game, and supposedly the studio’s most ambitious project.
Neil Druckmann, creator of the franchise, told us last year that the project could be fully revealed in 2023, only to backpedal a few months later, believing that the formula still needed to be refined. Ultimately, the ambitions surrounding the game would have been revised downwards, its potential for long-term engagement apparently clearly left something to be desired.
If we are to believe the report of Kotakuthe latest layoffs were ultimately one spore too many, while the game would have been “ frozen “. Which leaves Naughty Dog in a tricky situation, with no other projects officially announced yet. We suspect that another game The Last of Us is in the works, but its release appears to be hypothetical at best for the moment.
To some extent, the pausing of the multiplayer project comes (in)timely, as Jim Ryan recently announced his resignation from his position at the head of PlayStation. Remember that the man wanted to massively direct the brand towards multiplayer and games as a service, where we know PlayStation more for its strong single-player experiences. Should we see this as a reconsideration of the strategy within Sony Interactive Entertainment? The future will tell.
€9.90
10
- A sequel that spoils absolutely nothing
- The intelligence of his writing
- The best game on the PS4
The Last of Us Part II takes nothing away from the perfection of its predecessor. He doesn’t reshuffle any cards. It’s a game that doesn’t spoil anything; which embellishes everything and even gives more than one might expect.
The Last of Us Part II takes nothing away from the perfection of its predecessor. He doesn’t reshuffle any cards. It’s a game that doesn’t spoil anything; which embellishes everything and even gives more than one might expect.
Source : Kotaku
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