Tag: The Last of Us Part II

The Last of Us multiplayer game is reportedly ‘on ice’

The Last of Us maker Naughty Dog is reportedly laying off at least 25 employees, as The Last of Us multiplayer game faces difficulties

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The Last of Us and Uncharted maker Naughty Dog is reportedly laying off at least 25 employees, as The Last of Us multiplayer game faces ongoing difficulties. The news comes from two unnamed sources familiar with the situation, who told Kotaku the layoffs affect quality assurance workers the most, though they also include employees in the art and production departments.

Kotaku’s sources say that all the affected employees are contract workers. They will receive no severance pay and are expected to work until the end of October, and Naughty Dog reportedly forbade them and full-time employees from publicly discussing the layoffs. Whether Sony plans to make an official announcement remains to be seen.

The layoffs may stem from ongoing problems with The Last of Us multiplayer spinoff. Naughty Dog publicly delayed the game in summer 2023, and Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier said that Sony quietly moved resources away from the project. That decision reportedly came after a negative internal assessment from Destiny 2 maker Bungie, which Sony acquired in 2022 to help lead its live-service game initiative. Now, Kotaku’s sources say that game is “basically on ice,” and Naughty Dog has made no further announcements about development progress since the project’s earlier delay.

Naughty Dog’s layoffs are just the latest in a stream of redundancies across the games industry. Fortnite maker Epic Games laid off nearly 1,000 employees after shifting toward a creator-focused structure, Blizzard cut jobs on the Hearthstone team, and Ubisoft quietly laid off a small number of workers as well. Indie publisher Team17 also fired most of its quality assurance department, and the company CEO announced their departure.

Meanwhile, data from research group Circana shows that the video game industry generated over $4 billion in revenue in August 2023 alone.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

Naughty Dog is delaying The Last of Us multiplayer game

Naughty Dog previously promised more information about The Last of Us multiplayer game, and it turns out that information is a delay

Update: May 26, 2023

Bloomberg‘s Jason Schreier said on Twitter that Naughty Dog’s decision to announce the delay comes after Bloomberg learned that the game’s development has hit a snag.

“Sony Group Corp. has slowed down development on an upcoming multiplayer game in its long-running The Last of Us video game series as the creators reassess its quality and long-term viability, according to four people familiar with the project,” Schreier said.

While the game has not been canceled, Schreier said only a small number of developers remains on the project while the company decides where it should go next.

Original Story:

Naughty Dog previously promised more information about The Last of Us multiplayer game in summer 2023, but that announcement is rather different than some fans hoped for. The Last of Us multiplayer game is delayed indefinitely so the team can have more time to bring their vision to life.

“We know many of you have been looking forward to hearing more about our The Last of Us multiplayer game,” Naughty Dog said in a statement on Twitter. “We’re incredibly proud of the job our studio has done thus far, but as development has continued, we’ve realized what is best for our game is to give it more time.”

Naughty Dog didn’t mention how significant the delay is, though the game never had even a vague release frame to begin with. Naughty Dog previously came under fire for reported crunch conditions at the studio and pressure placed on developers to deliver complex projects on short deadlines, including work on The Last of Us Part 2.

The studio said they would continue working on the project, along with “other games” in development, including a “new single-player experience.” Whether that’s The Last of Us Part 3 is anyone’s guess. Naughty Dog has teased it already, though, and the HBO show performed so well that it would be more surprising not to see a new game.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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The best story-driven video games to play in 2022

Here’s a selection of the best story-driven video games you can play right now!

Movies and video games have transformed entertainment, but there’s a reason books still sell: people love to be told a story. Sure, it’s nice to dive into a video game map and fight 60 other players with your friends in Apex Legends, or to smash a giant football into a goal as a rocket-powered car in Rocket League, but sometimes we just want a good yarn. 

That’s why we’ve put together a list of the best story games to play right now. We won’t be covering stuff that’s too old, so please don’t cry about the lack of PS1-era Final Fantasy games. Instead, we wanted to focus on stuff that’s easy to play now, in the year of our Lord, 2022. Let’s brew some coffee and dive right into it. 

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Seattle arcade from The Last Of Us: Part 2 shuts down in real life

A big part of Seattle’s video game history is gone.

Fans of The Last Of Us: Part 2  will be saddened to hear that Gameworks, a real-world location that inspired the game’s arcade section, shut down for good.

First spotted by GamesRadar, Seattle-based arcade Gameworks allegedly closed its doors on Thursday. While the company itself has yet to post an official announcement on  its website  or social media pages, patrons in the Seattle area claim it’s gone. The location had a good reputation among video game fans, particularly those attending the annual Penny Arcade Expo.

Since The Last Of Us: Part 2  takes place in Seattle, Naughty Dog modeled an in-game section after Gameworks. It’s right around when Ellie encounters several bloaters in a run-down arcade, which you can watch a video of  here. Sure, it’s not called “Gameworks,” but that’s clearly what the location is supposed to be.

Patrons of Gameworks took to social media to share images of the locations’ last day along with fond memories of gaming events that took place there.

The location was in business for more than 25 years and is an integral part of Seattle’s video game scene. Kelsey Lewin, co-director of the Video Game History Foundation, is working with the location’s management to preserve what they can.

Quite a sad, nostalgic loss we have here.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Here’s a sneak peek at HBO’s live-action ‘The Last Of Us’ series

You know, Ellie, we really are a video game adaptation.

HBO’s The Last Of Us series has been in production for quite a while, and we finally got a chance to see it on Sunday. Specifically, what actors Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey will look like as Joel and Ellie, respectively.

During Last Of Us Day, an annual event where developer Naughty Dog recognizes fans of its hits video game series, a picture from HBO’s adaptation surfaced. Pedro Pascal, star of the series, shared a photo of himself and Bella Ramsey in character to mark the occasion — and it sure looks like The Last Of Us. Even if there’s not much to go off of cause both actors have their backs to the camera. But still!

Check out the photo for yourself below. 

Video game adaptations have a nasty habit of turning out, well, quite awful. However, HBO’s The Last Of Us series has quite a few names attached to ensure it turns out well. Namely Neil Druckman, Naughty Dog’s co-president, writer, and creative director on The Last Of Us and The Last Of Us: Part II. Druckman is a writer and executive producer on the HBO series, along with Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin. So if nothing else, there are loads of talented people working on this!

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF. 

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Watch eight minutes of new ‘The Last of Us Part II’ gameplay footage here

This game looks AMAZING.

I have to be honest with y’all. The Last of Us was a really good game, but I found it a tad bit overrated.

Don’t get me wrong — the storytelling elements of the game were enthralling. The characters and voice actors in the game were spectacular. But this ain’t a movie. It’s a video game. And the gameplay, for the most part, felt a bit slow and clunky.

From what we’ve seen so far of The Last of Us Part II, though? This game looks like it’s going to be amazing.

Sony broadcasted new gameplay video of TLOU 2 and it looks absolutely spectacular. Here’s a nine minute clip.

You can watch the entire video here.

The still images from the gameplay are just as unreal. I’m already imagining it on my television screen. Here’s a whole thread of ’em.

 

This game was certainly highly anticipated before. After today? Man, June 19 can’t get here quickly enough. Finna get this pre-order in right now.