{"id":1861848,"date":"2026-04-02T14:27:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T11:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1861848"},"modified":"2026-04-02T14:27:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T11:27:05","slug":"the-last-of-us-multiplayer-game-was-roughly-80-complete-when-it-was-cancelled-claims-former-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1861848","title":{"rendered":"The Last of Us multiplayer game was roughly 80% complete when it was cancelled, claims former director"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-last-of-us\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      The Last of Us<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">The Last of Us multiplayer game was roughly 80% complete when it was cancelled, claims former director<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">At the finishline.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Ellie-at-the-end-of-The-Last-of-Us.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Ellie at the end of The Last of Us\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Ellie-at-the-end-of-The-Last-of-Us.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Naughty Dog<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/connor-makar\">Connor Makar<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Staff Writer<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-04-02T14:27:05+00:00\">April 2, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-last-of-us-online-80-percent-complete-when-cancelled?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          3 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"cac9de81-a70f-41b6-8627-949fd8083bf2\" data-name=\"The Last of Us\" data-follow-text=\"Follow The Last of Us\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following The Last of Us\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow The Last of Us\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following The Last of Us\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow The Last of Us\" title=\"Follow The Last of Us\"><br \/>\n  Follow The Last of Us<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Former director of The Last of Us multiplayer game has claimed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-last-of-us-online-officially-cancelled-by-naughty-dog\">the cancelled online project<\/a> was roughly &#8220;80 percent&#8221; finished when it was cancelled.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ezqv1IyLNlQ\">Lance E. Lee&#8217;s LelPodcast<\/a>, Vinit Agarwal spoke about the game&#8217;s end. Speaking about the games industry during COVID, where online games saw a boost in players, Agarwal said Sony put a lot of money into Online games including The Last of Us multiplayer. He claims the game was &#8220;doing really really well internally&#8221;, and the team &#8220;developed it to 80 percent completion&#8221;.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"The Last of Us - Extended Red Band Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2gJD-d1uQh8?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/2gJD-d1uQh8\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">The Last of Us &#8211; Extended Red Band Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Here&#8217;s the original red band trailer for The Last of Us!<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2gJD-d1uQh8\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, as Agarwal would go on to explain, &#8220;all the forces that pushed the games industry in 2020 were the reasons it started declining in 2022 &#8211; 2023&#8221;. As people returned to the office, spending reduced. As Agarwal put it, &#8220;all the money that went into the industry, was not able to sustain. Because money was being pulled out, they had to also collapse the spending. It collapsed, basically. Overzealous&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Last of Us Multiplayer was one such casualty. Agarwal said: &#8220;A decision had to be made. Make this game, or make this next game that Neil Druckmann was directing, the president of the company. So, kind of naturally, you can understand what happened there. They had to pick the game which was the soul bread-and-butter of the studio, rather than this experimental game I was working on. I believe it was going to be really big, but unfortunately couldn&#8217;t see the light of day.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Agarwal describes this as a &#8220;devestating moment&#8221;, as he had spent seven years working on the cancelled game. &#8220;It was soul crushing. To find out it was getting cancelled 24 hours before [the cancellation] was announced to the public, that&#8217;s how I found out the game was being cancelled. It was just unfortunate and they had to do that because they have to control the messaging.&#8221; When asked if this hurt more than being walked out of the office when Agarwal was let go, he says it was &#8220;10 times more&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Following the game&#8217;s cancellation, reports came out which claimed<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-last-of-us-part-2-multiplayer-cancellation-reportedly-wasnt-a-bloodless-endeavour\"> this decision wasn&#8217;t a &#8220;bloodless endeavor&#8221;<\/a>, and there were some &#8220;Heads rolling at Sony for that one&#8221;. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/companies\/naughty-dog\">Naughty Dog<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/after-the-hate-directed-at-the-last-of-us-part-2-naughty-dog-boss-says-next-game-about-the-entirely-uncontroversial-topics-of-faith-and-religion\">is now working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet<\/a>, which Druckmann has said is the studio&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/intergalactic-the-heretic-prophet-is-naughty-dogs-most-expansive-and-expensive-game-says-neil-druckmann\">most expansive and expensive game<\/a>. He&#8217;s also said the studio is working on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/naughty-dog-working-on-second-game-alongside-intergalactic-neil-druckmann-confirms\">another game alongside this big AAA release<\/a>, though what exactly this is remains a mystery.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Former director of The Last of Us multiplayer game has claimed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-last-of-us-online-officially-cancelled-by-naughty-dog\">the cancelled online project<\/a> was roughly &#8220;80 percent&#8221; finished when it was cancelled.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ezqv1IyLNlQ\">Lance E. Lee&#8217;s LelPodcast<\/a>, Vinit Agarwal spoke about the game&#8217;s end. Speaking about the games industry during COVID, where online games saw a boost in players, Agarwal said Sony put a lot of money into Online games including The Last of Us multiplayer. He claims the game was &#8220;doing really really well internally&#8221;, and the team &#8220;developed it to 80 percent completion&#8221;.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"The Last of Us - Extended Red Band Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2gJD-d1uQh8?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/2gJD-d1uQh8\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">The Last of Us &#8211; Extended Red Band Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Here&#8217;s the original red band trailer for The Last of Us!<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2gJD-d1uQh8\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, as Agarwal would go on to explain, &#8220;all the forces that pushed the games industry in 2020 were the reasons it started declining in 2022 &#8211; 2023&#8221;. As people returned to the office, spending reduced. As Agarwal put it, &#8220;all the money that went into the industry, was not able to sustain. Because money was being pulled out, they had to also collapse the spending. It collapsed, basically. Overzealous&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Last of Us Multiplayer was one such casualty. Agarwal said: &#8220;A decision had to be made. Make this game, or make this next game that Neil Druckmann was directing, the president of the company. So, kind of naturally, you can understand what happened there. They had to pick the game which was the soul bread-and-butter of the studio, rather than this experimental game I was working on. I believe it was going to be really big, but unfortunately couldn&#8217;t see the light of day.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Agarwal describes this as a &#8220;devestating moment&#8221;, as he had spent seven years working on the cancelled game. &#8220;It was soul crushing. To find out it was getting cancelled 24 hours before [the cancellation] was announced to the public, that&#8217;s how I found out the game was being cancelled. It was just unfortunate and they had to do that because they have to control the messaging.&#8221; When asked if this hurt more than being walked out of the office when Agarwal was let go, he says it was &#8220;10 times more&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Following the game&#8217;s cancellation, reports came out which claimed<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-last-of-us-part-2-multiplayer-cancellation-reportedly-wasnt-a-bloodless-endeavour\"> this decision wasn&#8217;t a &#8220;bloodless endeavor&#8221;<\/a>, and there were some &#8220;Heads rolling at Sony for that one&#8221;. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/companies\/naughty-dog\">Naughty Dog<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/after-the-hate-directed-at-the-last-of-us-part-2-naughty-dog-boss-says-next-game-about-the-entirely-uncontroversial-topics-of-faith-and-religion\">is now working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet<\/a>, which Druckmann has said is the studio&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/intergalactic-the-heretic-prophet-is-naughty-dogs-most-expansive-and-expensive-game-says-neil-druckmann\">most expansive and expensive game<\/a>. He&#8217;s also said the studio is working on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/naughty-dog-working-on-second-game-alongside-intergalactic-neil-druckmann-confirms\">another game alongside this big AAA release<\/a>, though what exactly this is remains a mystery.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News The Last of Us The Last of Us multiplayer game was roughly 80% complete when it was cancelled, claims former director At the finishline. Image credit: Naughty Dog News by Connor Makar Staff Writer Published on April 2, 2026 3 comments Follow The Last of Us Former director of The Last of Us [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1861848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1861848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1861848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1861848\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1861848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1861848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1861848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}