Naughty Dog is reportedly cutting contractor jobs as their Last of Us spin-off seems uncertain.
As 2023 continues its path toward being an exceptional year for gamers while being one of the worst for employees, one more big-name developer, Naughty Dog, has implemented yet more cuts, including lay-offs of contractors.
Alongside this devastating news comes another worrying development for an eagerly anticipated game: after The Last of Us’ success, fans had eagerly anticipated its multiplayer spin-off title being released later. Although no game cancellation has been issued by its publisher yet, speculation suggests it might still be released soon and was put “on ice”.
Epic Games’ decision to lay off 16% of their workforce made headlines last September; Naughty Dog’s plans to dismissg 25 contractors at the end of Octoberaddg further heartache for employees in this industry.
According to Kotaku’s report, layoffs were announced last week internally, with existing employees being encouraged to remain silent about them. While none of this appears to have an immediate effect on full-time staffers, it will affectn 25 contract employees working on quality assurance testing, with no severance payment offered when terminations take effect at the end of October.
With layoffs on the rise and its multiplayer spin-off being in jeopardy, it appears The Last Of Us multiplayer spin-off may well be on hold – no official cancellation has been issued, but its failure to recover from a negative internal review from June seems inevitable.
Though fans should remain calm about a potential cancellation of this game, we should remain wary at this stage. Given its negative review several months back and no positive update, Sony and Naughty Dog may pull the plug altogether or postpone its release until everything is perfect to avoid jeopardizing one of their biggest franchises in recent history.
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