An image showing The Last of Us Online’s main menu has seemingly leaked

An image seemingly revealing the main menu of the cancelled The Last of Us multiplayer game been published online.

After Naughty Dog confirmed on Thursday that it had cancelled plans to release The Last of Us Online, reputable leaker Dusk Golem shared the image below.

It was originally posted on ResetEra and is now circulating on social media platforms.

So Dusk golem said that this was one of the main menu of the last of us multiplayer.
This is really sucks 😔 pic.twitter.com/FmwZ8zcs8N

— Mohamed31 (@Gho5tofspart31) December 15, 2023

Naughty Dog president and The Last of Us Part 2 director Neil Druckmann announced in September 2019 that the title wouldn’t include a multiplayer component as originally planned because the studio “wanted to take all of the resources to make this the biggest game we’ve ever done”.

However, in a follow-up statement, Naughty Dog pledged to release a new Last of Us multiplayer offering after its work on the sequel was complete.

It released the first concept art for The Last of Us Online in June 2022, when Druckmann said the game had its own story, a brand-new cast of characters, and was as big as any of the studio’s single-player titles. A second piece of concept art for the game was released in January.

Explaining the decision to cancel the live service game, Naughty Dog said moving forward with it would have required the studio to dedicate all of its resources to supporting post-launch content, meaning it would have had to give up making the single-player experiences it is renowned for.

“We know this news will be tough for many, especially our dedicated The Last of Us Factions community, who have been following our multiplayer ambitions ardently,” it said. “We’re equally crushed at the studio as we were looking forward to putting it in your hands.”

“We are immensely proud of everyone at the studio that touched this project,” it added. “The learnings and investments in technology from this game will carry into how we develop our projects and will be invaluable in the direction we are headed as a studio.

“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.”