The Last of Us multiplayer is delayed, but Naughty Dog is working on a new single-player game

The Last of Us 2
(Image credit: Naughty Dog)

The Last of Us multiplayer has been pushed back internally, but Naughty Dog has made up for it by confirming that "a brand-new single player experience" is also in the works.

In a tweet earlier today, the studio said that while it knows many fans have been looking forward to hearing about the multiplayer project and the team is "incredibly proud" of its work so far, "we've realized what is best for the game is to give it more time."

Naughty Dog goes on to say that it's continuing with the project, "as well as our other games in development, including a brand-new single-player experience." There's no word on what that is - the wording even makes it tough to judge whether it's a Last of Us title - but the tie-in with the multiplayer delay is almost sure to set tongues wagging about The Last of Us Part 3. Plus, "other games" implies that there's more in store beyond the delayed multiplayer project and newly-confirmed single-player game.

Moments after the official announcement, Bloomberg published a report suggesting that development on the multiplayer game had been scaled back. "A small group remains on the project while the company reevaluates the direction," the report claims. "While the game has not been canceled, many of its developers have been moved to other projects."

Earlier this week, PlayStation announced in a financial report that Destiny 2 developer Bungie was helping the publisher complete a "rigorous review process" of its upcoming live service catalog (via TweakTown). According to Bloomberg, this Last of Us multiplayer delay was a casualty of that process, with the review process raising concerns about the game's "ability to keep players engaged for a long period of time."

Naughty Dog has already decided on its next game, but is yet to confirm a third entry in the series. That, however, has not stopped fans from assuming that a follow-up to Ellie's story is pretty much a sure thing.

The Last of Us multiplayer was perhaps the most notable absence from this week's PlayStation Showcase.

Ali Jones
News Editor

I'm GamesRadar's news editor, working with the team to deliver breaking news from across the industry. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.

With contributions from
Read more
Concept art for Naughty Dog's new standalone multiplayer title
Cancelled The Last of Us Online game was "great," but former PlayStation exec says Naughty Dog had to scrap it after Bungie told them how much work it would be
best zombie games
"Don't bet on there being more of Last of Us": Asked about The Last of Us 3, Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann says "this could be it"
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
5 years after starting development, Neil Druckmann says Naughty Dog's new game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "still evolving and changing as we're making it"
The Last of Us 2
Naughty Dog has done it: it's remastered the PS5 controller with a Last of Us-themed DualSense announcement 24 hours after Neil Druckmann dashed our hopes for The Last of Us 3
The Last of Us 2
The Last of Us director Neil Druckmann doesn't have the "confidence" to plan for sequels: "I'm not saving some idea for the future"
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann says Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will also be about "being lonely," as if his zombie apocalypse wasn’t isolating enough: "I really want you to be lost"
Latest in Action
Yasuke and Naoe ready to fight on the Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail
On The Radar: Assassin's Creed Shadows coverage hub
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe assassinating target with Tanto skill
Assassin's Creed Shadows' first title update is a hotfix with three lines of patch notes and a download size up to 9GB
Assassin's Creed Shadows Nishinomiya Shrine
All Nishinomiya Shrine locations in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows riddles Naoe answers
All Assassin's Creed Shadows riddle answers for NPC encounters
GTA 6 trailer screenshots showing lucia in an interview room
"GTA 6 is basically a huge meteor, and we will just stay clear of the blast zone": Publishers are in a frenzy over when to release their games to avoid Rockstar
Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has been the series' best launch since Valhalla, but that was "a perfect storm we may never see again," says Ubisoft
Latest in News
Lunar Remastered Collection
"Will today’s players still enjoy a game from 30 years ago?": JRPG icon Kei Shigema says he was thrilled to see Lunar getting a remaster even after all this time
Nick Offerman as Bill and Murray Bartlett as Frank in The Last of Us episode 3
The Last of Us season 2 showrunners tease a "gorgeous" episode akin to season 1’s Emmy-nominated Bill and Frank story: "Just you wait"
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
CD Projekt boss says "cutting-edge single-player games" – you know, like The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 – will "continue to enjoy great popularity" despite industry shifts
Cyberpunk 2077
Despite releasing exactly zero new games, CD Projekt bagged $120 million in profit for 2024 – the Witcher and Cyberpunk studio's third-best result ever
Muse
Daredevil: Born Again midseason trailer teases Matt Murdock’s violent fight with Muse, including a gory scene straight from the comics
Batman looking over the city during Batman: Arkham City, one of the best PS3 games.
The PS2 Batman Begins game was considered such a "disaster" that Christopher Nolan turned down a Dark Knight-inspired game