The Last of Us multiplayer for PS5 has staff despite 'on ice' report We have a clue that The Last of Us multiplayer for PS5 is still in development despite reports that Naughty Dog's efforts at live-service games were 'on ice.'Kes Eylers-Stephenson Published 06 Nov 2023 FollowtopicsPlayStation 5Kes Eylers-Stephenson Just like that, it looks like The Last of Us multiplayer for PS5 is still in development of some kind after reports that it was 'on ice' and possibly even canceled. At least one senior position staff member is working on the game for PlayStation Studios' Naughty Dog.Naughty Dog seems to be keeping the TLOU Factions dream for PS5 aliveThe game director for The Last of Us multiplayer project for PS5 — one of Sony's many live-service games in development — is Vinit Agarwal. He had previously stated that the game was the "first standalone online experience [for Naughty Dog], one of our biggest efforts ever." Now Agarwal has stated on X: “Yes, I’m still working on that game.”Why are these six words such a big deal? Well, after an initial report that the game was delayed, further reporting stated that the game was 'on ice.' It seems that Bungie, the new arbiter of all of Sony's live-service projects, came in and suggested that Naughty Dog's big Factions 2.0 project just didn't have the longevity needed. Though Naughty Dog has said that the game needed more time officially, further reporting suggested the TLOU team was hit with QA layoffs before some big names also left the project.However, with the game director still working on it, the PS5 game might still be ticking on in the background. There has been a lot of confusion about whether it was canceled, downsized, or delayed, but this at least seems to put to bed the idea that it was canceled. It could be that the game director is working with a small team and reformulating the project. What could it look like in the future? Who knows!The Last of Us has had a sleepy year!Of all the 12 or more games that were being developed to hit the live-service market, I think that The Last of Us multiplayer was the most promising. Even with Sony's live-service games reportedly being scaled back, there would be a bit of me wondering why the Japanese company wouldn't entrust its flagship studio to try and innovate on the relatively new video game formula. It sounded like Naughty Dog was trying to bring elite story-telling chops to the live-service table and I am game for that!But what do you think of the news? Are you sad to be losing one of the limited number of PS5 exclusives coming from Sony? Are you all in on live service games? Let us know in the comment below and I will see you there!Related stories: 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 Don’t panic, Sony — you don’t need any more PlayStation Studios The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered fresh PS5 leak met with stale outrage PlayStation 5 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.