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[SlimySnake]

Miles was such a huge success too, it’s crazy they didn’t pursue that direction.

ND missed a huge trick by not doing a Lost legacy expansion for TLOU2. It wouldve been the perfect game to show off the power of the PS5. Just go balls out and use it as a tech demo of sorts.

Have it star Joel in a prequel of sorts. Win back the audience that hated Abby and the direction TLOU2 took. Get it out in 2 years. Leave the VSG studio alone and have them make their dated remake. You go and show the world what the PS5 is capable of.

But no. Neil had to go and make his hollywood tv show leaving ND directionless for 2 years meddling with projects from Sony bend who bailed and VSG studios who saw their baby get taken over by over zealous and bored ND developers.

I honestly cant believe that ND hired back the Uncharted Lost Legacy creative director after directing Avengers, only to have him waste away on a 1:1 copy pasta remake. If that isnt proof that this studio is being poorly run, i dont know what is.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

So Men_in_Boxes how's that GaaS future looking?

My people lived through the great drought and you think this Jason Shreier tweet moves the needle for us?

Honestly, I don't care too much. Bungie probably got it right in that this game wasn't going to have legs. At that point you have to reboot/overhaul/start from scratch. Once we learned that I wasn't expecting this anytime soon.

I am a bit perplexed why Naughty Dog doesn't just make their version of Day Z. The template is right in front of them.

Not really sure why this deserved attention. Games get cancelled. Contractors get let go. What am I missing here....

Kotaku is chumming the water for sharks. The article is basically a Paul Tassi reddit post.

 

[SlimySnake]

Factions 2, or whatever it will end up being called, has been starting and stopping since before TLOU2 came out. Recently, we heard Sony was investing deeply in GaaS.

One would assume this title would be close to release, not being put on ice.

Factions was in development for 2 years when it was announced in 2019. So its been in dev for 6 years now. Bend was helping them make it after launching Days Gone in April 2019.

Its clear that the game is in development hell and is all but cancelled. The only reason why they havent cancelled is that they hate Jason Schrier and want to prove him wrong. This game is never coming out.

 

[Matsuchezz]

this news is a pile of shit. if you've ever seen the job offerings at naughty dog there are a lot of positions that are temporal. if the multiplayer ever comes out
i will be there day one.

 

[graywolf323]

"""Full-time staff do not appear to have been part of the cuts. Naughty Dog’s headcount was over 400 as of July"""

"""the majority of those laid off worked in quality assurance testing. The sources said at least 25 developers were part of the downsizing"""

No one from the main team fired, only 25 and most of them in QA, Neogaf summary = disaster in ND.

it fits a narrative people like to push

 

[Gojiira]

If I was Sony, I would merge Naughty Dog with Insomniac.
I will remain a huge fan of Naughty Dog but the studio has lost some of its appeal. The studio looked like there were 2 captains on a steerless ship and one of the captains, Evan Wells, has just retired.
I would welcome a new Uncharted or TLOU game but I just want something fresh from them.

Fuck off, and have Druckman infect Insomniac? Fuck you, fuck right off.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Hey Bungie, evaluate internal GAAS game A..... "it sucks"

Hey Bungie, evaluate internal GAAS game B..... "it sucks"

Hey Bungie, evaluate internal GAAS game C..... "it sucks"

Hey Bungie, how's Destiny 3 coming along?..... "it's awesome!"

Who knew Bungie were going to be overseers of all Sony GAAS games (even ND's game).

Reminder: Bungie likely reviewed Concord and Fairgames which both got the greenlight.

 

[Needlecrash]

QA is sadly, one of the first divisions to get the axe anywhere. Hoping the affected employees land on their feet elsewhere.

 

[skit_data]

I was under the impression this was put on ice earlier anyway

 

[Xtib81]

They bit more than they could chew, that's a real shame, so many ressources and so much Time wasted.

 

[mortal]

Damn, Insomniac really ate Naughty Dog's lunch this gen and became the darling 1st party studio.

Hope they course correct as soon as possible, chasing the GaaS dragon will lead to a lot of casualties.

 

[TheRedRiders]

ND missed a huge trick by not doing a Lost legacy expansion for TLOU2. It wouldve been the perfect game to show off the power of the PS5. Just go balls out and use it as a tech demo of sorts.

Have it star Joel in a prequel of sorts. Win back the audience that hated Abby and the direction TLOU2 took. Get it out in 2 years. Leave the VSG studio alone and have them make their dated remake. You go and show the world what the PS5 is capable of.

But no. Neil had to go and make his hollywood tv show leaving ND directionless for 2 years meddling with projects from Sony bend who bailed and VSG studios who saw their baby get taken over by over zealous and bored ND developers.

I honestly cant believe that ND hired back the Uncharted Lost Legacy creative director after directing Avengers, only to have him waste away on a 1:1 copy pasta remake. If that isnt proof that this studio is being poorly run, i dont know what is.

A TLOU2 spin off would be have been as next-gen as the TLOU1 Remake.

 

[Cr1ptkeeper]

So their next game will probably be a PS6 launch game that will also be cross gen... And their first next gen PS6 only game will be in... 2032?

 

[SlimySnake]

A TLOU2 spin off would be have been as next-gen as the TLOU1 Remake.

nah. TLOU1 is so last gen because it started dev in 2018 by a support studio that has never previously made a game. By the time ND took it over while waiting for Neil to finish shooting the tv show, it was too late to add any meaningful changes to the engine.

A game started from scratch in 2020 by the A team at ND wouldve been a bit more next gen than the remake. Maybe some ray tracing features. At the very least, they couldve included the pre downgraded version they showed at E3 2018 supposedly running on a PS4 Pro.

 

[GymWolf]

The (supposedly) better studios manager, ladies and gentleman.

 

[TGO]

Called it but no one believe me

 

[xrnzaaas]

First of likely many victims of Sony's gaas chase. They should've expanded the mode only a little bit and released it alongside the remake.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Reminder: Bungie likely reviewed Concord and Fairgames which both got the greenlight.

Good point.

Everyone knows Sony bought them so they got a shooter IP in their back pocket (Destiny) and they'd be be advisors to GAAS strategy, but I didn't think Bungie would be going around evaluating other team's games like a new boss stepped in and is calling the shots.

 

[Hayabusa83]

To Naughty Dog, core gameplay is a foreign concept. Can't fall back on the 'lucid dreams narrative' in multiplayer.

 

[SlimySnake]

Good point.

Everyone knows Sony bought them so they got a shooter IP in their back pocket (Destiny) and they'd be be advisors to GAAS strategy, but I didn't think Bungie would be going around evaluating other team's games like a new boss stepped in and is calling the shots.

Its insane that they are relying on Bungie so much that they allowed them to have the final say on NAUGHTY DOGS Internal project. Like this is fucking Naughty Dog. Imagine how bad the studio must be feeling having some lesser studio come in and destroy your project. Fuck bungie. Havent won goty since 2007. ND has won four. GTFO and go make your gaas trash. herman and jimbo are killing these studios.

 

[Kacho]

What a disaster. Have your teams stick to what they’re good at, Jimbo.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

GOTY everywhere.

Sweeps fart sniffing TGA.

2023 - game still isn't finished.

Like....the fuck? Throw in some "modern females," and two clotheshanger wire fuck lesbians kissing, and the greater gaming sphere can forgive their peers for releasing an ideological trojan horse that wasn't finished, then quietly abandon it.

ND can't become a C tier film company any sooner.

 

[Majormaxxx]

Naughty Dog was a mistake.

Hope you are happy, Druckmann and Sarkeesian.

That mind virus infected them and ate the studio from the inside.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Good point.

Everyone knows Sony bought them so they got a shooter IP in their back pocket (Destiny) and they'd be be advisors to GAAS strategy, but I didn't think Bungie would be going around evaluating other team's games like a new boss stepped in and is calling the shots.

Take a look at the info on the right. This was posted by PlayStation over a year ago. (First time seeing it myself)

 

[midnightAI]

Kotaku overdramatising things? Will this play work to reveal a Last of Us update?

 

[Alebrije]

3 years for just this image....

What a waste.....

 

[Lupin25]

Thought it would be worse.

25 QA testers who aren’t owed severance regardless?

Then you have guys saying, “They could’ve used those 25 QA testers for their next game!”

ND has multiple teams with multiple games so I wouldn’t worry much about this project. Just a reminder if this experimental crap doesn’t work out.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Take a look at the info on the right. This was posted by PlayStation over a year ago. (First time seeing it myself)

Looks like Bungie was destined(!) to be GAAS overseer from the beginning. Enjoy Sony studios as a studio best known for sci-fi shooters Halo and Destiny evaluate your games.

That would be like Nestle buying a company known for good Ecom strategies selling soup online. The second they get hired, all brand managers involved with water, chocolate, Nescafe and Milo have to send them their ecom strategies for evaluation. lol

 

[Woggleman]

A bunch of studios are trying to create their own version of GTA Online but it will not work because there is no limit to what toys you can buy in that world. There is a limit in a post apocolypse game. TLOU2 is one of the best games of all time to me and they should have made an expansion instead of trying to be Rockstar.

 

[Adam_802]

Oof, its dead.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

TLOU was a great single player game. It never needed a stupid online GaaS spinoff.

Ofcourse it also didn't need a dumb sequel that retconned everything.

 

[Fake]

3 years for just this image....

And clowns applauded. Unbelievable.

 

[Gambit2483]

I was under the impression this was put on ice earlier anyway

It's been unofficially dead for a long time now. This is just the first time they've been publicly addressing this corpse.

 

[GHound]

Since buying a Playstation a week or so ago, the CEO has quit and their most celebrated developer is now laying people off.

You can thank me at your leisure.

Shit brother, can you buy a couple more so I can get a new Ape Escape and/or Dark Cloud 3 over here?

 

[TheTony316]

"One source now tells Kotaku that the multiplayer game, while not completely canceled, is basically on ice at this point."

Cancel this GaaS garbage and focus on Singleplayer games.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Looks like Bungie was destined(!) to be GAAS overseer from the beginning. Enjoy Sony studios as a studio best known for sci-fi shooters Halo and Destiny evaluate your games.

That would be like Nestle buying a company known for good Ecom strategies selling soup online. The second they get hired, all brand managers involved with water, chocolate, Nescafe and Milo have to send them their ecom strategies for evaluation. lol

I don't think anyone in game development looks at Bungie that way.

The idea that Bungies expertise begins and ends with "sci fi shooters" seems bizarre.

Bill Belichick never played RB in his life. He's obviously accrued a wealth of knowledge about the run game. Peter Brand (Moneyball) never played Baseball and he revolutionized the sport.

You don't need to make a successful GAAS game in every genre to develop an expertise in the field.

 

[VideoGameEnjoyer]

Sucks, been wanting to play a MP mode with TLOU2 gameplay since I first played it, looks like it may not happen now. A Factions 2 mode as a follow up to the original would have been perfectly fine, and probably have a very nice, active community. But I guess if you can't monetize it to all hell and find ways to keep people around for 10 years on a battle pass then it's just not worth doing anymore? So dumb, haven't seen a big ND/Sony whiff like this is a while.

 

[Moriarty1889]

They need to let CUCKMAN go as well.

 

[TheTony316]

Shit brother, can you buy a couple more so I can get a new Ape Escape and/or Dark Cloud 3 over here?

You can add Gravity Rush 3 and Wild Arms.

 

[blastprocessor]

Too much gas in the office, team had to be let go.

 

[Iced Arcade]

Well at least it shows that Sony is now serious about online. Bringing Bungie to evaluate was a smart decision.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I'm going to go further and theorize that the initial plans for LOU Online was to have it be a standalone B2P game but has shifted to be a F2P Live Service game, but as such needed to be entirely retooled around live service mechanics. Could also be that Bungie suggested that it needed to have a PC version at launch and either a PC version wasn't in development or was far behind in development.

I think this placed it far removed from the tv show it doesn't make sense to release the game now and they'd rather wait to release it around the launch of Season 2 of the show, which will probably be late 2024 early 2025.

So with the game being so far out from release, it doesn't make sense to sustain QA staff.

While they're waiting for Season 2 to progress, they're reallocating staff to other projects.

Not necessarily the doom and gloom story that people would have you believe. But that's speculation on my part too.

 

[saintjules]

Last Of Us Studio Naughty Dog Is Cutting Developers

The PlayStation first-party studio behind Uncharted and The Last of Us Part II is laying off dozens of contractors

kotaku.com

Despite hit ratings for the recent HBO adaptation of The Last Of Us, a multiplayer spin-off for the zombie shooter based on the first game's Factions mode has struggled in development. Bloomberg reported in June that Sony had diverted resources away from the project following a negative internal review by Bungie, the recently acquired live-service powerhouse behind Destiny 2. One source now tells Kotaku that the multiplayer game, while not completely canceled, is basically on ice at this point.

 

[lughnasadh123]

Better to dump it now than keep spending time and money patching holes. I wonder if TloU 3 will have some this multiplayer as an additional setting? I doubt everything is bad enough that something couldn't be salvaged.

 

[TransTrender]

This seems like minor housekeeping.

 

[Del_X]

They ran out of gaas

 

[Topher]

Naughty Dog is laying off contract developers, asking them to keep it quiet. TLOU Online "is basically on ice at this point"

Miles was such a huge success too, it’s crazy they didn’t pursue that direction. ND missed a huge trick by not doing a Lost legacy expansion for TLOU2. It wouldve been the perfect game to show off the power of the PS5. Just go balls out and use it as a tech demo of sorts. Have it star Joel in...

www.neogaf.com

 

[Loomy]

Contractors usually don't get severance pay.

 

[Gaiff]

They ran out of gaas

 

[mitch1971]

something out of nothing.