In recent days , we have read about layoffs at Naughty Dog , which were to affect the online The Last of Us. There are many indications that the production is not currently being developed, because the main designer for monetization left the company.
The online mode from The Last of Us was initially supposed to debut as an additional gameplay variant for The Last of Us Part II, but as we know, Naughty Dog decided to focus on the story in the final stretch – players were to download a free update ensuring PVP competition.
A lot has happened since then, as Naughty Dog began developing a full-fledged multiplayer game that would receive multi-year support, and one of the game’s key developers was Anders Howard.
The company hired a specialist last year and it was he who was supposed to put together the entire plan for the development of monetization of The Last of Us Multiplayer. As we know, the title was to be developed for years, the authors planned large expansions, so a developer was needed to set up the entire monetization system. However, as it turns out, Anders Howard left Naughty Dog.
Anders Howard, lead monetization designer who joined Naughty Dog less than a year ago to work on the TLOU web project, has left the studio. Howard previously worked at Epic Games. He helped design Fortnite’s Battle Pass core and progression systems.
Anders Howard, a Principal Monetization Designer who joined Naughty Dog just under a year ago to work on the TLOU Multiplayer project has left the studio.
Howard previously worked at Epic Games. He helped design the core of Fortnite's battle pass and progression systems. pic.twitter.com/R9DdyNxBcB
— Naughty Dog Info 🐾 (@NaughtyDogInfo) October 4, 2023
In this situation, we can safely assume that Anders Howard did not finish his work for the online The Last of Us and the creator left to pursue further projects, because the game is still not on the market and we do not even know whether it will debut at all.
Source: NaughtyDogInfo