Naughty Dog announces “brand-new single player experience” alongside Last of Us multiplayer delay

Naughty Dog’s got a new single-player game in the works.

The Uncharted developer was expected to show off its The Last Of Us multiplayer project at this week’s PlayStation Showcase. It didn’t, but on Friday, it did share some news about the game as well as a surprise announcement that it’s working on a totally new game.

The wording of the announcement doesn’t make it clear if this new single-player experience is set in the universe of The Last Of Us or if it’s something wholly different. We’ve reached out for comment and will update when we hear more.

The brief announcement also let fans know that The Last Of Us multiplayer game needs more time to cook before Naughty Dog can reveal it. Shortly after Naughty Dog’s tweet was published, Bloomberg reported that the multiplayer project seems to be hitting some snags.

The team working on the game was scaled back after a recent evaluation, said the people, who asked not to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. A small group remains on the project while the company reevaluates the direction. While the game has not been canceled, many of its developers have been moved to other projects. 

Additionally, according to Bloomberg’s reporting, Destiny 2 developer Bungie — a company that knows a thing or two about developing live service shooters — was brought in to evaluate the game. Bungie apparently raised concerns that Naughty Dog’s multiplayer game wouldn’t be able to keep players engaged.

It’s been a while since Naughty Dog’s done anything that wasn’t related to The Last of Us. Earlier this year, it released The Last of Us on HBO and PC. The former received rave reviews, the latter… less so. Naughty Dog has developed a reputation for delivering top-quality narrative experiences, so whatever this new game is, expect it to put you in your feelings.

Update May 26th, 3:26PM ET: Added information from Bloomberg’s reporting.