The Last of Us Online cancelled by developer Naughty Dog

An online The Last of Us spin-off would have been based on the second game in the series

A multiplayer game based on The Last of Us has officially been cancelled.

Delays to the PlayStation 5 project were reported earlier this year, and developer Naughty Dog confirmed on Thursday it had been dropped.

It said the "incredibly difficult decision" came because maintaining the game would impact other projects.

In a statement, the studio said it would "continue to focus on single-player narrative games that have defined Naughty Dog's heritage".

Naughty Dog, which is owned by Sony, has produced some of the most critically acclaimed games for PlayStation with the Uncharted and The Last of Us series.

While both games have included multiplayer modes, the Last of Us Online was billed as a live service game.

These online titles constantly receive regular post-launch updates and new content, and can potentially retain players for months or years.

However, they require a lot of work to maintain, and Naughty Dog said continuing with The Last of Us Online would have meant becoming "a solely live service games studio".

Instead, it said it wanted to concentrate on "more than one ambitious, brand new single player game" currently in development.

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The move follows Sony's recent announcement that it's scaling back its plans to produce more live service games.

In February 2022, it said it wanted to release 12 by March 2026, but has since revised the figure down to six.

Sony bosses have still suggested they want to focus on big multiplayer titles, but that quality is a priority.

As well as the unannounced titles it said it was working on, Naughty Dog is due to release a remastered version of The Last of Us: Part 2 next month.

And the TV adaptation of the first game, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, has just been nominated for three Golden Globes.

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