Highlights
- Video game development can involve multiple stages, many employees, and take several years to complete. This is evident in Naughty Dog's secretive multiplayer project set in The Last of Us' universe.
- Naughty Dog's multiplayer game was originally intended as a component of The Last of Us 2, while Silksong began as DLC for Hollow Knight.
- While it may be frustrating for fans to hear about delays and lack of information, it is important to give developers like Naughty Dog the time and resources to create high-quality games. This situation is similar to the delays experienced by Hollow Knight: Silksong, which has also faced a lengthy development period and a lack of concrete release details.
Video game development has multiple stages of production, involves a varied number of employees, and can take several years to finish. Naughty Dog's secretive multiplayer project set in The Last of Us' universe is a prime example of this and has since been confirmed to be going back to the drawing board to review aspects of its design.
Understandably, it is frustrating for fans to hear this news about the latest game from The Last of Us series. Naughty Dog should be given the time and resources to create the game with the highest quality possible, but after so many years with next to no information, it shouldn't come as a shock that the response to its indefinite delay has been mixed. In fact, it's sharing a similar situation to Hollow Knight: Silksong in that regard.
Hollow Knight: Silksong's Persistent Delays
Like an elephant in the room, Silksong is guaranteed to always be on players' minds when discussing games in a lengthy development state. The original Hollow Knight launched in 2017 and was a huge hit, garnering critical acclaim and being compared to the best examples of the Metroidvania genre. Silksong was originally meant to be DLC for the original Hollow Knight, but the project soon expanded into something much grander.
Formally revealed in February 2019, Hollow Knight: Silksong is a full-blown sequel to the original. The reveal trailer boasted incredible visuals, enhanced combat, and more of the same atmosphere players loved in the first installment. It quickly became a hotly anticipated title but little did players know it would be quite some time before they'd be able to play it, let alone see it in action once more. Hollow Knight: Silksong's marketing went completely silent until the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase in 2022. But even now there are still no concrete details on a release date.
Similarities with The Last of Us Multiplayer Project
Ironically, Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer project is following a very similar development cycle to what Hollow Knight: Silksong has experienced over the last several years. It too originally began its life as a side project to support a pre-existing title, in this instance, a multiplayer component to The Last of Us 2. It was meant to follow a similar style to the Factions mode included in the first game, but as production advanced, the team got even more ambitious and the game turned into something else entirely.
Unable to meet the launch of The Last of Us 2 in June 2020, Naughty Dog made the decision to split this project away and turn it into its own dedicated release. That was three years ago, and the studio has shown next to nothing about the project aside from some concept art and general information about the game. What's more troubling is that experienced multiplayer developer Bungie apparently stepped in and deemed the project unviable as a long-term live service release, a concerning opinion after so much production time.
Naughty Dog is filled with talented people as evidenced by its rich catalog of games, so the benefit of the doubt should be given here. At the same time, though, it's hard to not feel anxious when such a high-profile release completely vanishes. Hopefully those eagerly anticipating both The Last of Us' multiplayer and Hollow Knight: Silksong don't have much longer to wait for a positive update.
The Last of Us' spin-off multiplayer game is in development.
