{
  "id": 2015791,
  "title": "The Last of Us Online Was Not a 'Side Project,' Majority of Intergalactic's Team Came Over After Multiplayer Game Was Scrapped",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/the-last-of-us-online-was-not-a-side-project-majority-of",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-19T21:03:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IGN",
    "slug": "ign",
    "url": "https://www.ign.com/articles/the-last-of-us-online-was-not-a-side-project-majority-of-intergalactics-team-came-over-after-multiplayer-game-was-scrapped"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Online was more than a side project, and it played a significant role in the studio's release cycle. According to Jason Schreier, the game was not a mere side project but a major release for Naughty Dog. The majority of the team working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet came over after The Last of Us Online was scrapped. The team realized that once the multiplayer project was released, it would require substantial resources and time to support long-term, slowing down or taking attention away from Naughty Dog's beloved single-player projects. The scrapped game left the studio with a significant gap in its release cycle, as they had not had a new title since 2020. While Naughty Dog currently has multiple projects in the works, including potentially Uncharted 5 or The Last of Us Part 3, there is little information about Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. The game was reportedly put into development after Naughty Dog scrapped multiplayer from The Last of Us Part 2, with the intention of focusing on the single-player aspect of the main game. The scrapped multiplayer project was seen as a better option, as the team desired to give the multiplayer project more resources.",
  "summary": "Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Online was more than just a \"side project\" and is a big reason why the studio hasn't had a brand new game since 2020.",
  "key_points": [
    "The Last of Us Online was a major release, not a side project for Naughty Dog.",
    "The scrapped multiplayer project left a significant gap in Naughty Dog's release cycle since 2020."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}