It's not hard to understand the disappointment felt by developers who've poured their hearts and souls into a project and made personal sacrifices, only to then hear some suit from the floor above declare that the game is being cancelled. That's what happened to Naughty Dog with The Last of Us: Online, and now we're learning a bit more about that ill-fated title.
In an interview on the Lance E. Lee Podcast from Tokyo (via Kotaku), its director Vinit Agarwal reveals that the game was actually "around 80% complete" when the blow came, and he admits it hit him hard:
"That was a devastating moment for me because I spent seven years working on that game, and it was soul-crushing. I remember honestly finding out that it was getting cancelled 24 hours before it was announced to the public. That's how I found out about the game getting cancelled, and it was just unfortunate, and they had to do that because they have to control the messaging."
The explanation he gives for the decision was that the studio simply wanted to bet on something safer than a more experimental concept:
"Basically, at one point, a decision had to be made. 'Okay, make this game or make the next game that Neil Druckmann was directing, the president of the company...They had to pick the game that was kind of the bread and butter of the studio rather than this experimental game that I was working on that I believe was going to be really big, but unfortunately couldn't see the light of day."
Just under a year ago, we reported that Vinit Agarwal had left Naughty Dog behind and founded a Japanese studio instead. It remains to be seen what he's cooking up next, but there are several examples of prominent developers who've left industry giants to found their own successful studios, releasing hit games such as Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Death Stranding, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and The Finals.
We're keeping our fingers crossed that Agarwal's new project will also deliver, and we'll be sure to check back when we learn more.
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