Naughty Dog has reportedly suffered a spherical of layoffs, with the troubled The Last of Us multiplayer spin-off mentioned to be “on ice”.
The Sony-owned studio, which is residence to some 400 workers, is shedding a minimum of 25 builders, Kotaku mentioned. Most of the folks affected are high quality assurance (QA) contractors who’re seeing their contracts minimize brief. According to Kotaku, full-time workers are usually not affected.
Naughty Dog will reportedly not supply severance to laid off workers, who Kotaku mentioned are anticipated to work till the tip of October. According to the positioning, Naughty Dog workers “are being pressured to maintain the information quiet”. IGN has requested Sony for remark.
The Last of Us multiplayer spin-off is, based on Kotaku, “principally on ice”, though just isn’t “fully cancelled”. This tallies with a May report from Bloomberg, which mentioned the “high quality and long-term viability” of the much-anticipated The Last of Us multiplayer recreation had come into query, and consequently a “small group stays on the undertaking whereas the corporate reevaluates the route”.
“We know lots of you’ve gotten been trying ahead to listening to extra about our The Last of Us multiplayer recreation,” Naughty Dog mentioned on the time. “We’re extremely pleased with the job our studio has executed up to now, however as growth has continued, we have realized what’s greatest for the sport is to provide it extra time.
“Our staff will proceed to work on the undertaking, in addition to our different video games in growth, together with a model new single-player expertise; we look ahead to sharing extra quickly.
“We’re grateful to our implausible neighborhood to your help —- thanks to your ardour for our video games, it continues to drive us.”
Naughty Dog’s most up-to-date launch was the March launch of the PC port of The Last of Us 1, which was met with combined opinions over efficiency points. The studio has already chosen its subsequent recreation however is but to verify whether or not it is The Last of Us Part 3 or one thing else completely.
We nonetheless do not know a lot about The Last of Us multiplayer recreation, however Naughty Dog did share some idea artwork earlier this 12 months, saying “the undertaking is shaping as much as be a contemporary, new expertise from our studio, however one rooted in Naughty Dog’s ardour for delivering unimaginable tales, characters, and gameplay”.
Naughty Dog studio co-president Evan Wells introduced his retirement after 19 years on the studio, leaving Neil Druckmann to completely take the reins of one of many PlayStation’s best-known studios. Druckmann is at present engaged on the second season of smash-hit HBO collection The Last of Us.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can attain Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
