The Last of Us live-service game development allegedly on hold for PS5 The Last of Us multiplayer might be canceled according to new reports about the in-development PS5 live-service game from PlayStation Studios' Naughty Dog.Kes Eylers-Stephenson Published 04 Oct 2023 FollowtopicsRumourPlayStation 5Kes Eylers-Stephenson Is The Last of Us multiplayer canceled? It's been a question on everyone's mind after there were reports of a delay in development. Well, new sources have suggested the whole live-service project might be "on ice" and a long way from joining other first-party PS5 games on the console.Sony's live-service direction seems to hit TLOU hardAccording to Kotaku, massive layoffs have hit the PlayStation Studios team specifically in the department working on TLOU's live-service multiplayer project. According to the outlet's sources, layoffs happened last week in pretty much every area of the sub-team with a minimum of 25 members of staff laid off. QA was apparently hit the hardest, with most full-time staff of the TLOU multiplayer division in Naughty Dog's over 400-person total headcount saved.The report suggests that there is no severance for any employees laid off and there has been pressure for any affected staff member to remain quiet about the situation. Sony's official lines of communication remain quiet as affected staff keep working until their final days with the developer at the end of October.The game itself has apparently been in trouble since an internal review by Bungie's live-service consulting division back in June 2023. At that point, resources were apparently pulled from the project while it was undergoing reevaluation from Naughty Dog. Now, the sources have reiterated TLOU multiplayer's precarious position. "One source now tells Kotaku that the multiplayer game, while not completely canceled, is basically on ice at this point."Naughty Dog has been pursuing a TLOU Factions 2.0 for a while and it has often been theorized it'd be the face of Sony's live-service game lineup. I think Factions might have been one of the most underrated parts of the first game even with its nightmare trophies (thankfully excluded from The Last of Us Part I trophies, but sadly at the cost of losing the game mode too).However, while I do think having a reported 12 live-service titles in development is probably a massive mistake that screams "throw feces at a wall and see what sticks," if any project has the potential to succeed it was something like The Last of Us Factions 2.0 under the guiding hand of Naughty Dog. That dream looks dead thanks to this report and we feel especially sorry for those whose jobs have been gutted. Let's hope everyone lands on their feet. As we wait for more about TLOU multiplayer, why not check out the other PS5 news we right every day and head down into the comments to let us know all about what you think about this story? We'll see you there!Related stories: The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered mysterious PS5-only Lost Levels named The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered: release date, PS5 upgrades, and more The Last of Us Part 2 leak implies PS5 port is coming a few years late Best action adventure games — 11 great PS5, PS4 adventure games (2023) Sony delays six PS5 games as live-service future stumbles RumourPlayStation 5Upcoming Release Written by Kes Eylers-StephensonEditor Kes is our resident expert in PlayStation and other gaming news. He writes about PS5 exclusives like The Last of Us and Horizon, PS Plus news, and his favorite games — The Witcher, Assassin’s Creed, and God of War — before an evening swim.