Bungie reportedly expressed concerns over how engaging The Last of Us multiplayer project was

naughty dog recently shared that its multiplayer mode The last of us The game needed “more time”, but a new report claims this happened at Bungie’s suggestion.

A multiplayer spinoff of The Last of Us has been in the works for a while now, and Naughty Dog confirmed it would be a standalone title last June. We haven’t heard much about it since then, and Naughty Dog shared earlier this week that it will be a while before we hear anything else. In the style of the now classic apology/delay announcement posts, the developer leaned into the latter in a recent Twitter post. “We know that many of you have been eager to hear more about our multiplayer game The Last of Us,” the statement opens.

“We’re incredibly proud of the work our studio has done thus far, but as development has continued, we’ve realized that it’s in the best interest of the game to give it more time. Our team will continue to work on the project, as well as our other games in development, including a new single player experience, we look forward to sharing more soon.”

But according to a follow-up report from Bloomberg, it does not seem that it was Naughty Dog himself who realized that the game needed more time. According to Bloomberg, Sony has asked Bungie (the Destiny developer Sony acquired last year) to evaluate the various live service games the former currently has in development. Bungie apparently noted some concerns that The Last of Us multiplayer could “keep players engaged for a long period of time,” which resulted in the retest.

In turn, the team working on the project has apparently dwindled, with a small group sticking around while Naughty Dog reassesses direction. It should be noted that the game has not been canceled, but many of its developers are now on other projects. Of course, this raises questions about whether Sony can release the 10 live service games it had planned for 2026.