Report: The Last of Us 2 Online Mode Factions 2 Was in Development for 4 Years, Cancellation Resulted in Heads Rolled at Sony

Just eight months ago, Naughty Dog announced that the in-development multiplayer mode of The Last of Us 2 which was referred to as Factions 2 was cancelled since supporting it long-term would severely impact the development of the studio’s single-player games. While not a lot of details came out of it outside of what was announced, it seems the mode was in development for quite some time, and it’s cancellations had ramifications at Sony in the form of layoffs.

This was something revealed by veteran gaming news journalist Jason Schreier in the latest Friends Per Second podcast. Talking about the Bungie layoffs that happened recently, Schreier commented on how live service games cost millions to produce, and the mentioned how Naughty Dog’s “Factions” game was in development for “something like four years” and had a development team of “in the hundreds.”

I mean, Naughty Dog’s Factions game was in development for something like four years with a team in the hundreds. Like, that is an expensive proposition for something that was a miss… I mean that project, like that getting canceled was not a bloodless endeavor, there were some heads rolling at Sony as a result of that one.

“Heads rolling” refers to sever punishments or in the case for corporate speak, getting terminated/fired. Of course, Sony didn’t mention anything about that when the cancellation was announce at the time.

Bear in mind that this is in no way official, though given Schreier’s track record and reliable contacts within the industry, chances are high that this is the real deal. Outside of The Last of Us 2 online mode cancellation announcement, the only thing that surfaced so far is a leaked menu image.

For now, it seems Naughty Dog is keeping things under wraps on what they are doing next, but based on studio boss Neil Druckmann’s statement from a documentary released in February of this year, The Last of Us 3 is being developed by the studio. Not only that, but Druckmann also confirmed that multiple single-player projects are being developed by the studio currently.

Related Reading:

• Report: Bungie’s Feedback Led to Cancellation of The Last of Us 2 Multiplayer Project, Clarifies Destiny 3 Rumors
• The Last of Us 2 Originally Inspired by Bloodborne, Initially Planned as Open-World and Melee-Focused
• Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann Confirms Multiple Single-Player Projects in the Works; “We Will Not Be The Last of Us Studio Forever”

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