According to recent reports, Naughty Dog was hit with a wave of layoffs affecting more than 20 people from different departments. The affected employees will have to leave the company at the end of this month.
The bad news doesn't end there, as sources familiar with the matter revealed that the new The Last of Us multiplayer game is practically in the freezer after several difficulties. Thus, it is not known what will happen to the project after the layoffs.
Naughty Dog layoffs reported
Thanks to Kotaku, we know that at least 25 Naughty Dog employees will lose their jobs at the end of October. These layoffs will affect the art, production and, most importantly, external quality control workers.
The report states that those affected will not receive any severance pay. On the other hand, it is mentioned that the company is doing everything possible to keep the dismissed people and their current employees quiet about the issue.
At the time of writing, neither Naughty Dog nor Sony have issued a statement on the matter. So it is uncertain whether the number of people affected is accurate or even higher.
Multiplayer of The Last of Us would be in trouble
On the other hand, it seems that the layoffs are to some extent linked to the new multiplayer of The Last of Us. Naughty Dog has been silent on the project, which has apparently not met the expectations of Bungie, the studio overseeing the games-as-a-service-focused strategy.
The new report claims that the title is currently in the freezer, but that it has not been canceled. Despite this, its future is uncertain and it is not known if the project will ever come to fruition or the studio will leave it behind.
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