Shuhei Yoshida Says He Played the Canceled Last of Us Multiplayer—And It Was Great

Listen, everyone knows The Last of Us is a masterpiece. It's been praised, analyzed, turned into a hit TV show, and remains one of PlayStation's crown jewels. But you know what no one talks about enough? The original game's multiplayer mode, Factions.

If you played it, you know. Factions wasn't just some tacked-on side mode—it was one of the most intense, strategic, and rewarding multiplayer experiences ever. At its core, it was a team-based, stealth-driven deathmatch, but being a Naughty Dog game, it had that special sauce. Every bullet mattered, every fight felt desperate, and on top of that, there was a meta-game where your in-game performance determined the survival of a virtual community. Win matches? Your people thrived. Lose too many? Your community started to starve. It was brutal. It was brilliant.

That's why so many fans were excited when Naughty Dog announced they were turning it into a full-fledged live service game. And it's also why the cancellation of The Last of Us Online last year was such a gut punch. But now, we finally have some insight into what could have been—straight from Shuhei Yoshida, the former head of PlayStation Studios.

_Via_{PlayStation.Blog}

In a recent interview, Yoshida revealed that he actually played the canceled game—and he thought it was great. However, Naughty Dog ultimately pulled the plug after consulting with Bungie, the Destiny developers who know a thing or two about running a live-service game. According to Yoshida, Bungie explained what it would take to keep a multiplayer title alive long-term, and Naughty Dog realized that if they committed to The Last of Us Online, they wouldn't be able to focus on their single-player projects.

"Oops, we can't do that!" is how Yoshida summed up their realization, adding that Naughty Dog didn't want to jeopardize their upcoming projects like Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.

While some reports suggested Sony was pushing its studios toward live-service titles, Yoshida clarified that there was never a hard mandate. However, studios that did propose live-service elements had a better chance of getting their projects greenlit. So, while The Last of Us Online wasn't forced on Naughty Dog, it also wasn't an easy project to walk away from.

At the end of the day, we'll never get to see The Last of Us multiplayer fully realized as a standalone game. But hearing from someone like Yoshida that it was actually shaping up to be great? That stings.

Here's hoping Naughty Dog finds a way to bring back the spirit of Factions in some form—because I still want that tense, tactical multiplayer experience back in my life.