The yet-to-be-officially-named multiplayer project The Last of Us (called Factions until a lack of a better name) is probably keeping a close eye on the path Activision Blizzard’s June release is taking.

Naughty Dog’s IP will enter the live service model as Sony looks to strengthen. With Diablo IV being the genre’s most recent AAA success, it’s almost certain that TLoU, which left the now standalone multiplayer project out of The Last of Us Part II due to having grown too big and possibly gone through a reboot, will analyze how Diablo has done it right. The studio is not saying much about the game (the focus will be on storytelling with a cohesive narrative), and rumors are that the gameplay loop will follow what is already seen in extraction shooters and open-world survival titles.

Diablo IV has been well received critically and therefore has the potential to keep players returning for years. Still, the design flaws of the first season have already shown that Activision Blizzard is focusing on monetization rather than the Blizzard philosophy. The publisher immediately started to react to it, but perhaps too late, and who knows what changes the second season will bring. Naughty Dog still has a lot to learn from Destiny 2 and Fortnite regarding battle passes, for example, if it is indeed the direction the studio is going in.

For live service games, it is vital to anticipate how developers will add content to their creations because if the game sits still for too long (see Halo Infinite), it will be detrimental to the model. Diablo IV resets every three months, so you can return at any time without it feeling too alienated. Still, it is a financially rewarding experience for the publisher due to the in-game shop and cosmetic battle pass, and Naughty Dog could replicate this approach.

When will we see more of the new The Last of Us?

Source: GameRant