The Last of Us Online Main Menu Image Reportedly Leaks Right After Cancellation

The Last of Us Online was cancelled recently after fans eagerly awaited an update on its release. The team behind The Last of Us titles, Naughty Dog, is one of the best single-player developers in the industry. Primarily focusing on titles for the PlayStation consoles since Sony acquired it in 2001, they have given the industry some excellent series like Uncharted and Crash Bandicoot.

Regarding single-player titles, only a few studios can match the detail and quality the studio delivers. Now, after the title’s cancellation, the multiplayer title’s menu image has leaked online recently, and fans are left lamenting over the game, which will never be worked upon.

Leaked The Last of Us Online Main Menu Image Sparks Reactions from Fans

The leak occurred on ResetEra by user Dusk Golem and was later posted on Twitter, a platform that has seen many video game leaks. A user going by the handle @Gho5tofspart31 shared the main menu background image along with this tweet:

So Dusk golem said that this was one of the main menu of the last of us multiplayer. This is really sucks

A post containing the leak was also posted on the r/thelastofusfactions subreddit. Fans expressed how the cancelled game made them feel. They reacted to the post and expressed their desire to experience the title.

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They shared that it would have been a fantastic game even if Naughty Dog had released the Factions mode of the first The Last of Us title and made the gameplay changes introduced in the sequel along with some minor adjustments. Some other comments on the post stated that:

I would have dumped Apex for this game. What a pity.

I’ll be playing this game the way Ellie plays the Angel Knives arcade game :/

I woulda dumped so much money into this game, my bank account is grateful

This upsets me even more. We will be seeing full leaks come out this week because f**k naughty dog.

The studio also stated that they did not want to focus on a full-fledged live-service game; thus, any plans regarding the game’s development were scrapped. While it is good news that one of the best single-player developers in the industry isn’t getting into multiplayer titles, fans are visibly disappointed with the game’s cancellation.

Why It Is High Time that Naughty Dog Provides New Content

The last update on the game occurred in May when it was indefinitely delayed, and the studio was working on a “brand new single-player experience.” Following that, the studio recently announced The Last of Us Part 2 remastered in November 2023, and fans were not impressed. The community and fans questioned whether remastering a barely three-year-old title was necessary. The title doesn’t look dated at all.

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Since the release of The Last of Us Part 2 in June 2020, we have yet to see a new experience being delivered by Naughty Dog. The studio seems to be focusing on remakes or, worse, remasters.

The studio is known for its quality in terms of single-player experiences, which have excellent and polished gameplay and look as cinematic as a Hollywood movie. But there are undoubtedly many things wrong with releasing the same games with a fresh coat of paint in the last three years.

While the studio has confirmed that it is working on a new IP, no details about it are known. The last update was the soft announcement made in May when it was announced that the multiplayer game was shelved. More recently, the announcement made by the studio for the cancellation of The Last of Us Online stated that several single-player projects were underway at the studio.

The studio stated that:

We have more than one ambitious, brand new single player game that we’re working on here at Naughty Dog, and we cannot wait to share more about what comes next when we’re ready.

The studio still has a chance to turn things around after failing to provide a new experience to fans who have already played the two The Last of Us titles. That is because it clearly stated that it would be doubling down on single-player titles instead of developing an online experience, which isn’t what it is known for.

All this indicates that the following announcement by the studio could make up for the disappointment caused by the cancellation of the online title and releasing The Last of Us Part II remastered.

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