The wounds from The Last of Us Online’s cancellation still cut deep, but we suppose we’re all going to have to move on eventually.
Vinit Agarwal, who was the director of the highly anticipated standalone multiplayer spin-off, has announced that he’s moving to Japan to start a new studio. His time at Naughty Dog also included game designer roles on Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.
“Moving to Japan tomorrow,” he wrote. “Also forming a game studio – more on that soon!”
Agarwal announced in January that he intended to leave Naughty Dog, following the cancellation of The Last of Us Online in 2023. The game had been in development for several years, and was allegedly excellent, but the developer decided it didn’t want to become a “live service games studio” and would have had to commit significant resources to supporting it.
That hasn’t dissuaded the Agarwal from continuing to make multiplayer games, however. In a prior conversation on X (or Twitter), he said he plans to stick with online games because that’s what he’s “passionate about”.
In reality, it’ll probably take several years for the ex-Naughty Dog employee to set up his new studio, iterate on ideas, and settle on a direction. As such, we wouldn’t expect him to have anything up and running for quite some time.
However, after pouring his heart and soul into The Last of Us Online for so many years, we certainly wish him the best.