End clap for The Last of Us Factions. Naughty Dog is abandoning its multiplayer game to focus on what made its reputation: single-player games. And there wouldn’t just be a certain The Last of Us 3 in development…
Under the leadership of Jim Ryan, PlayStation has moved in recent years towards the creation of game services. Studios renowned for their single-player titles then began developing multiplayer productions, temporarily abandoning the style that made their reputation over several years. Naughty Dog was one of them, and with the CEO of Sony’s video games division set to leave in March 2024, the Californian studio is reviewing its plans. The Last of Us Factions is canceled to focus on its signature: single-player games. And the Dogs are obviously thinking big for the future.
The Last of Us 3 and another big single-player game?
Change of plans. After a few years of development, Naughty Dog made the difficult decision to cancel The Last of Us Factions. The free-to-play inspired by the multiplayer mode of the very first episode was to inaugurate Sony’s new strategy, but it will not be. The title was originally supposed to be shown during the year, before the Dogs brought some less than reassuring news. A few months later, the ax fell this week. A heavy decision, but necessary for the studio which prefers to focus on what it does best: single-player games. And in fact, looking closer, we notice that the Dogs confirm that they are currently working on at least two productions of this caliber. “We have more than one ambitious new single-player game in development at Naughty Dog”they explained in their message announcing the cancellation of Factions.
One of them is an open secret at this point. Given the success of the series and the sales of the license, The Last of Us 3 is already in the works. Neil Druckmann himself confirmed that he had already worked on the broad outlines of the scenario, when reputable insiders affirmed that the project had been validated internally and that motion capture would soon begin. On the other hand, we shouldn’t count too much on an Uncharted 5. If the studio has recruited well to shape the future of the franchise, it seems that the Dogs are ready to move on. Rumor has it that the creators of the license will continue to supervise it, but that it will be entrusted to another member PlayStation Studios. A game was even considered by Bend Studio (Days Gone) at one point before being shelved.
Fantasy or science fiction in the future?
Among the rumors, there is precisely one that has been persistent for many years now. It seems that the Dogs are preparing a brand new science fiction-oriented license, or at least, have been working on it at one point. Many players believe that the Savage Starlight posters plastered on the studio’s latest games are an indication in this direction.
However, another more recent theory is that Naughty Dog is working on a pure fantasy license. The reason ? Here again, posters added in the versions of The Last of Us Remake and Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection. These four new posters have a theme in common: fantasy. The studio having made a habit of teasing its next games through easter eggs in these latest productions, the theory has greatly gained momentum. The last hypothesis remains a return of Jak & Daxter, notably with the arrival of a live-action film with Tom Holland, but at this stage it seems less probable than the rest. It remains to be seen whether the developers have hidden new clues going one way or the other in The Last of Us 2 Remastered, which will be available on January 19, 2024.