Single player only

Happy Friday. Any big gaming plans for the weekend? We’ll, we hope you Xbox players weren’t holding out for BG3 to come to Game Pass… because it won’t be happening :’(

— Tim Rhyne, Jason Liu

MAIN QUEST: Last of Us Multiplayer Canned

Naughty Dog, a prominent PlayStation developer, recently announced the cancellation of its multiplayer game set in The Last of Us universe, titled The Last of Us Online. This decision was revealed in a blog post, where Naughty Dog explained that the project was in pre-production simultaneously with The Last of Us Part II. They expressed initial enthusiasm for the game's direction, but acknowledged a significant challenge: to release and support The Last of Us Online would require dedicating the studio's resources to post-launch content for an extended period. This commitment would significantly impact the development of future single-player games. Faced with a choice between transforming into a live service games studio or continuing their legacy in single-player narrative games, Naughty Dog opted for the latter, also revealing that they are working on more than one major new single-player title.

The development of The Last of Us Online had already encountered difficulties, indicated by a delay announced in May following a Bloomberg report about Sony re-evaluating the game's direction. Additionally, a Kotaku report in October mentioned layoffs of some contractors at Naughty Dog, suggesting that The Last of Us Online was essentially on hold. This cancellation is part of Sony's larger shift in strategy, scaling back from its initial plan to release 12 live service games by March 2026 to just six.

Step back: Live service games with the required dedication for post-launch content is an entirely different beast compared to what Naughty Dog has historically been known for and accustomed to. We’ll have to see how Sony plans to bounce back on this one.

HUD

• Larian’s CEO provided a series of tweets on what he wanted to say at The Game Awards upon Baulder’s Gate 3 winning Game of the Year. He acknowledged the people who made the game succeed, lost team members along the way, recent layoffs at Wizards of the Coast, and stated “Games are a unique art form, as important as books, music or movies.”

• Netflix Gaming has 10 games being developed internally and more than 90 in the works. Additionally, they are comfortable with the patience required to “do it right” as a long-term commitment.

• Fortnite’s winter event brings a TMNT crossover with skins for all four Turtles and April plus these outfits include their Lego skins. The ability to craft a single crossover deal into skins for multiple game modes makes for stronger offerings in both business development and sales bundles.

MAJOR W

• 🍉 Suika Game, aka Watermelon Game, has a free trial (normally $2.99) till the 20th for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. This casual game brings 2048-style play in the form of a physics-based 2D object placement game. Its success in the creator space has led to hundreds of ripoffs across the web and mobile.

• 📺️ Minecraft is adding 4K resolution support on Xbox series X | S consoles.

• 🤘 Axios Gaming newsletter ends Monday with writer Stephen Totilo announcing he is going independent by launching Game File. His work inspired us to do Loading Screen and we’re excited to see him take this leap!

F IN THE CHAT

• 🔥 Former Fntastic developer claims that The Day Before never had any MMO mechanics and “disagreeing with the founders’ opinions risked you being fired.”

• ☠️ In an attempt to add clarity and help the “thriving artist community,” Twitch has reduced some of its restrictions around sexual content. It failed.

CAREER CORNER

• Release Manager — Mountaintop Studios (Remote, US)

• Lead Product Manager — Proof of Play (Remote, US)

• Art Lead — Closing Theory Studios (Austin, TX)

HIVE MIND

WEEKLY CHECKPOINT

Have you been keeping up with this week’s headlines? Welcome to the weekly checkpoint, where we test your knowledge of the biggest gaming stories from the past week. Do you have what it takes to ace this quiz?

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