The Last of Us franchise will definitely have a sequel. But Naughty Dog might have other exciting new IPs up its sleeve…

Naughty Dog has shared some disappointing news about the cancellation of Last of Us multiplayer and why they decided to shut down development. The reasoning is absolutely logical. It’s good to hear that Naughty Dog isn’t pulling the strings to complete a mission they’re not sure they can achieve. Of course, it will always be annoying that players never got what could have been a fantastic live service experience with The Last of Us Online.

Now that this news has broken, Naughty Dog doesn’t even have to reassure fans but once again reminded everyone that they still have more games in the works.

It is now clear that Naughty Dog will only develop single-player games. That’s exciting, considering it led to the studio’s success. For example, Uncharted paved the way for the success of The Last of Us. Both franchises are also incredibly popular with their recent live-action adaptations. However, it seems Naughty Dog has no plans to revive Uncharted now that Nathan Drake has a beautiful narrative book. Meanwhile, The Last of Us may still have a long way to go. Still, a new IP from the team can always be more appealing than another Last of Us game.

The ambiguity of Naughty Dog’s roadmap makes new games and IPs more exciting

Part 3 of The Last of Us could significantly impact the gaming industry. It might be one of the biggest games Naughty Dog has ever released. But in the time left until the official announcement, there will never be any question whether Naughty Dog is really working on it. At least not like in part 2. No one believed that a second part was inevitable when it was announced. The ending to the original game was pretty straightforward. Ending the story, it would have made sense without Naughty Dog ever having to exhume it.

The sequel was only officially announced at the end of 2016, which was only a few years after the original PS4 remaster, but the second part was finally released only in 2020.

The third part is expected to arrive in the same time interval. Especially now that Naughty Dog doesn’t have to focus on The Last of Us Online. A third part seems inevitable since the franchise has never been so popular. The second part had the same definitive conclusion as the first. Still, knowing that a live-action HBO adaptation is just around the corner for a sequel could be a nudge Naughty Dog feels to continue the story before HBO runs out of things to adapt.

We need something besides Uncharted and The Last of Us…

There are only two parts to The Last of Us; we’ve got two remasters and a significant remake. At this time next month, the remaster of the second part of The Last of Us will be available. The series completely catches up with the current generation. So there will be nothing to remaster or remake from the franchise until the next PlayStation console arrives.

In the meantime, Naughty Dog would release a standalone multiplayer game at some point in the future if it hadn’t been cancelled, but the franchise will continue in single-player games.

Instead, since Naughty Dog has repeatedly shared that multiple games are in the works, it’s safe to assume that not all of them are part of The Last of Us franchise.

Seeing what Naughty Dog can achieve beyond The Last of Us will be incredible! After all, it is not only this IP that determines their work. Granted, it’s unclear if it has returning IPs in the plan or is only working on new ones. Uncharted and The Last of Us have been carrying the studio for over a decade. Something new among his several games in development would be totally refreshing. Especially if the premise was as compelling as, say, a Punisher game being developed by Naughty Dog…

Source: Gameranx