Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier appeared on the Friends Per Second podcast to discuss Sony’s multiplayer game strategy and the behind-the-scenes story of the cancellation of The Last of Us Online. According to Schreier, the cancellation of the game led to significant upheaval at Sony, resulting in numerous high-level departures. Here are the details…
Chaos at Sony After The Last of Us Online Cancellation
Schreier emphasized the impact of The Last of Us Online‘s cancellation, noting that the project had been in development for four years with a team of hundreds. The cancellation was far from smooth, with Schreier stating, “Some heads rolled at Sony because of this,” indicating that the decision had serious consequences within Sony’s management.
While it’s unclear which executives were fired or reprimanded, the situation suggests that Sony was not pleased with Naughty Dog’s decision to focus on single-player games instead of live-service games.
Schreier mentioned that although Naughty Dog might have saved itself by shifting focus, he believes many other studios have struggled when transitioning to live-service games. He cited examples like Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League debacle, BioWare’s decline with Anthem, and Arkane Austin’s closure after Redfall as instances where this shift proved risky.
Schreier’s comments highlight the challenges and risks of moving towards live-service games in the gaming industry and shed light on the turmoil that The Last of Us Online‘s cancellation caused within Sony.
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