{"id":4093,"date":"2026-04-10T09:04:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T16:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wiki-living.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/10\/a-former-xbox-boss-thinks-naughty-dogs-decision-to-cancel-80-of-the-last-of-us-online-was-the-right-call-but-it-shouldnt-have-given-it-the-green-light-in-the-first-place-the-desire-was-there\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T01:56:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T08:56:16","slug":"a-former-xbox-boss-thinks-naughty-dogs-decision-to-cancel-80-of-the-last-of-us-online-was-the-right-call-but-it-shouldnt-have-given-it-the-green-light-in-the-first-place-the-desire-was-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wiki-living.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/10\/a-former-xbox-boss-thinks-naughty-dogs-decision-to-cancel-80-of-the-last-of-us-online-was-the-right-call-but-it-shouldnt-have-given-it-the-green-light-in-the-first-place-the-desire-was-there\/","title":{"rendered":"A former Xbox boss thinks Naughty Dog&#8217;s decision to cancel 80% of The Last of Us Online was &#8216;the right call&#8217;, but it shouldn&#8217;t have given it the green light in the first place &#8211; &#8216;The desire was there, but the realistic planning wasn&#8217;t&#8217;, he says."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<hr id=\"elk-66723ad1-d3f0-4e86-a80b-96f352ee06bf\"\/>\n<ul id=\"elk-8944edd9-774f-4c82-b9bc-a17bf5a3831b\">\n<li><strong>Former Microsoft executive Laura Fryer says Naughty Dog&#8217;s decision to cancel <\/strong><em><strong>The Last of Us Online<\/strong><\/em><strong>    &#8220;it was the right call&#8221;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>He explains that the studio &#8220;made a very difficult choice&#8221; going forward and realized that we couldn&#8217;t continue with a live service game.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Fryer also questioned why Naughty Dog greenlit it in the first place, saying, &#8220;The desire was there, but the actual planning wasn&#8217;t.&#8221;<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr id=\"elk-0618bfd8-ec50-4214-8c3b-d2abc726817d\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-9826ced8-afcc-46d9-bafe-85a4b5d29e53\">Former Microsoft Game Studios executive producer Laura Fryer reflects on the decision to cancel <em>The Last of Us<\/em><em>    On the Internet<\/em> it was the right decision on Naughty Dog&#8217;s part, and greenlighting the project was &#8220;a real mistake&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, <em>The Last of Us<\/em> <em>On the Internet<\/em> game director Vinit Agarwal revealed that the multiplayer was &#8220;about 80% complete&#8221; and &#8220;very close to done&#8221; before Naughty Dog pulls the plug in 2023.<\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-9826ced8-afcc-46d9-bafe-85a4b5d29e53-2\">At the time of the game&#8217;s cancellation, the studio known for its single-player titles such as <em>What is not written<\/em> again <em>The Last of Us<\/em> it said it canceled the project because it didn&#8217;t want to &#8220;become a studio for live service games only&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-continues-below block py-2 text-sm\">The article continues below <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"inline-block w-2.5 h-2.5 ml-2\" fill=\"currentColor\" preserveaspectratio=\"xMidYMid meet\" viewbox=\"0 0 1000 1000\"><path d=\"M1000 100L500 900 0 100h1000z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pb-0 pt-2 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 !text-base uppercase sm:text-sm font-bold&#10;        \"><\/p>\n<p>            You might like it<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Agarwal, who shared that he worked on the game for seven years, learned of its cancellation 24 hours before the public, and that Naughty Dog decided to focus on its main narrative single-player game, <em>Intergalactic: The Rogue Prophet<\/em>instead of diverting resources to an online article.<\/p>\n<p>According to Laura Fryer, despite how painful the cancellation was for the band and &#8220;soul-crushing&#8221; as Agarwal described it, it was &#8220;the right call&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A lot of people said they should have just finished the game and sent it because it was so close, and I understand how frustrating it must be for the players who were looking forward to this game,&#8221; Fryer said in a new YouTube video.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But I think that&#8217;s missing the big picture because the truth is that this is a classic example of the deception of high costs, and I&#8217;ve seen it played out many times before when you have a studio that has already spent many years and millions and they feel that they have to ship the game anyway, that they have no choice, or they know that long-term service support will be brutal.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-3M9wQFifgVVBVd3JJsApzm\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-3M9wQFifgVVBVd3JJsApzm slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Sign up for top news, reviews, opinions, top tech deals, and more.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"youtube-video youtube-facade\" data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"elk-LjNQzykPh7o\">\n<div class=\"video-aspect-box\">\n<div class=\"watch-on-iframe-LjNQzykPh7o\" data-yt-video-token=\"LjNQzykPh7o\" title=\"Naughty Dog Was RIGHT to Cancel The Last of Us Online. The Real Mistake Was Starting It. - YouTube\">\n<span class=\"youtube-video-title\">Naughty Dog Was Right to Cancel Our Last Online. The real mistake was the beginning. &#8211; YouTube<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"play-button\" viewbox=\"0 0 234.67 165.33\"><path fill=\"red\" d=\"M229.763 25.817c-2.699-10.162-10.65-18.165-20.748-20.881C190.716 0 117.333 0 117.333 0S43.951 0 25.651 4.936C15.553 7.652 7.6 15.655 4.903 25.817 0 44.236 0 82.667 0 82.667s0 38.429 4.903 56.85C7.6 149.68 15.553 157.681 25.65 160.4c18.3 4.934 91.682 4.934 91.682 4.934s73.383 0 91.682-4.934c10.098-2.718 18.049-10.72 20.748-20.882 4.904-18.421 4.904-56.85 4.904-56.85s0-38.431-4.904-56.85\"\/><path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"m93.333 117.559 61.333-34.89-61.333-34.894z\"\/><\/svg><\/p>\n<p>Watch it open <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"youtube-logo\" viewbox=\"0 0 507.9 113.39\"><g fill=\"#fff\"><path d=\"M64.792 80.99V32.396l42.082 24.297zm93.803-63.285a20.285 20.285 0 0 0-14.32-14.32C131.642 0 80.99 0 80.99 0S30.337 0 17.705 3.385a20.286 20.286 0 0 0-14.32 14.32C0 30.338 0 56.693 0 56.693S0 83.049 3.385 95.68A20.285 20.285 0 0 0 17.705 110c12.632 3.386 63.285 3.386 63.285 3.386s50.652 0 63.285-3.386a20.284 20.284 0 0 0 14.32-14.32c3.385-12.632 3.385-38.988 3.385-38.988s0-26.355-3.385-38.988m94.473 74.326c.887-2.314 1.332-6.098 1.332-11.35V58.556c0-5.097-.445-8.822-1.332-11.178-.888-2.355-2.452-3.533-4.69-3.533-2.163 0-3.69 1.178-4.577 3.533-.888 2.356-1.332 6.081-1.332 11.178V80.68c0 5.25.424 9.035 1.275 11.35.848 2.318 2.392 3.475 4.633 3.475 2.239 0 3.803-1.157 4.691-3.475zm-17.953 11.122c-3.207-2.16-5.486-5.52-6.835-10.079-1.352-4.554-2.027-10.617-2.027-18.185v-10.31c0-7.644.771-13.784 2.316-18.417 1.544-4.633 3.956-8.011 7.24-10.135 3.282-2.123 7.587-3.186 12.916-3.186 5.251 0 9.459 1.082 12.626 3.243 3.165 2.162 5.482 5.542 6.95 10.136 1.466 4.595 2.2 10.715 2.2 18.36v10.31c0 7.567-.714 13.65-2.142 18.243-1.43 4.595-3.747 7.955-6.951 10.077-3.205 2.124-7.548 3.186-13.03 3.186-5.64 0-10.06-1.082-13.263-3.243m248.053-57.981c-.81 1.005-1.352 2.646-1.621 4.923-.272 2.278-.404 5.734-.404 10.367v5.097h11.697V60.46c0-4.555-.155-8.011-.463-10.367-.309-2.355-.868-4.014-1.678-4.98-.812-.966-2.067-1.449-3.766-1.449-1.7 0-2.954.503-3.765 1.506zm-2.025 29.886v3.591c0 4.557.132 7.974.404 10.251.269 2.279.828 3.94 1.68 4.982.849 1.041 2.16 1.564 3.938 1.564 2.392 0 4.035-.927 4.923-2.781.887-1.853 1.37-4.942 1.447-9.268l13.785.812c.077.62.116 1.469.116 2.548 0 6.565-1.795 11.47-5.387 14.712-3.589 3.242-8.669 4.865-15.232 4.865-7.876 0-13.398-2.47-16.564-7.414-3.168-4.94-4.75-12.586-4.75-22.935V63.589c0-10.657 1.641-18.436 4.924-23.342 3.281-4.903 8.9-7.355 16.854-7.355 5.482 0 9.691 1.004 12.626 3.012 2.933 2.01 5 5.137 6.197 9.383 1.197 4.247 1.796 10.117 1.796 17.607v12.163h-26.757m-284.953-1.33-18.187-65.68h15.869l6.37 29.77c1.623 7.339 2.82 13.594 3.591 18.766h.464c.54-3.706 1.738-9.922 3.591-18.65l6.603-29.886h15.869l-18.417 65.68v31.51h-15.754v-31.51M322.115 34.23v71.007h-12.511l-1.39-8.688h-.347c-3.399 6.564-8.496 9.845-15.291 9.845-4.71 0-8.185-1.543-10.425-4.633-2.24-3.087-3.359-7.915-3.359-14.48V34.23h15.985v52.126c0 3.168.348 5.426 1.043 6.776.695 1.353 1.853 2.027 3.475 2.027 1.39 0 2.722-.423 3.996-1.275 1.274-.849 2.22-1.928 2.838-3.241V34.229h15.986m81.995.001v71.007h-12.511l-1.391-8.688h-.345c-3.402 6.564-8.498 9.845-15.292 9.845-4.711 0-8.186-1.543-10.426-4.633-2.24-3.087-3.358-7.915-3.358-14.48V34.23h15.985v52.126c0 3.168.347 5.426 1.041 6.776.696 1.353 1.855 2.027 3.476 2.027 1.391 0 2.723-.423 3.996-1.275 1.275-.849 2.22-1.928 2.839-3.241V34.229h15.985\"\/><path d=\"M365.552 20.908h-15.87v84.329h-15.637v-84.33h-15.869V8.05h47.376v12.858m76.811 53.636c0 5.174-.215 9.229-.639 12.162-.424 2.937-1.139 5.021-2.143 6.255-1.004 1.236-2.357 1.854-4.053 1.854a7.404 7.404 0 0 1-3.65-.927c-1.12-.618-2.026-1.544-2.722-2.78V50.796c.54-1.93 1.467-3.513 2.78-4.749 1.313-1.234 2.74-1.853 4.285-1.853 1.623 0 2.876.637 3.766 1.91.886 1.275 1.505 3.418 1.853 6.43.348 3.011.523 7.297.523 12.857zm14.652-28.964c-.967-4.478-2.531-7.721-4.692-9.73-2.163-2.007-5.136-3.011-8.919-3.011-2.935 0-5.676.83-8.224 2.49a16.926 16.926 0 0 0-5.908 6.545h-.117l.001-37.416h-15.405v100.777h13.204l1.622-6.717h.347c1.235 2.393 3.088 4.285 5.56 5.675 2.47 1.39 5.213 2.085 8.225 2.085 5.404 0 9.382-2.491 11.931-7.471 2.548-4.982 3.823-12.76 3.823-23.341V64.23c0-7.953-.484-14.17-1.448-18.65\"\/><\/g><\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"elk-e33b90f8-1e81-47c8-97e0-b17fc74d4c8f\">Fryter went on to say, Naughty Dog did not do this and &#8220;made a very difficult choice&#8221; by looking ahead and realized that it would not be able to support a multiplayer game and risked turning a single-player studio into a live service operation capable of supporting a single game for years to come.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In my opinion it was the right call,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Although it hurt the team they worked so hard on, they chose to go back to what was their studio&#8217;s bread and butter, single-player narrative games.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The former Xbox executive also questioned why Naughty Dog decided to start the project in the first place, calling the live service model an &#8220;endless treadmill&#8221; for studios working on these kinds of games.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pb-0 pt-2 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 !text-base uppercase sm:text-sm font-bold&#10;        \"><\/p>\n<p>            What you can read next<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cAny studio executive could have used the numbers for which team [of] Naughty Dog&#8217;s size could really support it,&#8221; continued Fryer. &#8220;They could clearly see that a team the size of Naughty Dog would never be able to support a live service game and all their amazing cinematic single-player games. It was impossible. But instead of doing that analysis, they went ahead and let the game go forward. They let it go on for 7 years. &#8220;<\/p>\n<p>To follow <em>Our Last Online Cancellation<\/em>former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida revealed that answer from <em>The future<\/em> developer Bungie was involved in the decision, and Wicked Dog realized they couldn&#8217;t support it alongside their single-player projects.<\/p>\n<p>Fryer notes that this was &#8220;the problem&#8221; in the first place, saying, &#8220;The desire was there, but the logical pre-planning was not.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Naughty Dog has finally secured what it does best, great cinematic single-player games. That&#8217;s great leadership, even if it hurts,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And sometimes the bravest thing a studio can do is admit that something isn&#8217;t going to work before it brings down the whole company.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He continued, explaining that while fans may be disappointed and he understands the development team&#8217;s pain, &#8220;pulling the plug, that wasn&#8217;t a real mistake.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The real mistake was lighting this test in the first place without doing the homework beforehand. That&#8217;s my take,&#8221; Fryer said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-person-3M9wQFifgVVBVd3JJsApzm-PvaddOI6VfWVQi4S2lMPPXUEh91RJrh9\" class=\"slice-container person-wrapper person-3M9wQFifgVVBVd3JJsApzm-PvaddOI6VfWVQi4S2lMPPXUEh91RJrh9 slice-container-person\">\n<div class=\"person person--separator\">\n<div class=\"person__avatar-block\">\n<figure class=\"image-wrapped__wrapper\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"false\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapped__widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:none\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapped__aspect-padding\" style=\"padding-bottom:56.25%\">\n<div style=\"display:contents\"><picture data-hydrate=\"false\"><source class=\"person__avatar image-wrapped__image image__image\" type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/mbxtLUiYux7PfwwGrr8Ep6-140-80.jpg.webp 140w\" sizes=\"99vw\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/mbxtLUiYux7PfwwGrr8Ep6.jpg\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/mbxtLUiYux7PfwwGrr8Ep6.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/mbxtLUiYux7PfwwGrr8Ep6.jpg\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" data-slice-image=\"true\"><source class=\"person__avatar image-wrapped__image image__image\" type=\"image\/jpeg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/mbxtLUiYux7PfwwGrr8Ep6-140-80.jpg 140w\" sizes=\"99vw\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/mbxtLUiYux7PfwwGrr8Ep6.jpg\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/mbxtLUiYux7PfwwGrr8Ep6.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/mbxtLUiYux7PfwwGrr8Ep6.jpg\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" data-slice-image=\"true\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"DualSense\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/mbxtLUiYux7PfwwGrr8Ep6-140-80.jpg 140w\" sizes=\"99vw\" class=\"person__avatar image-wrapped__image image__image\" loading=\"lazy\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/mbxtLUiYux7PfwwGrr8Ep6.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/mbxtLUiYux7PfwwGrr8Ep6.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/mbxtLUiYux7PfwwGrr8Ep6.jpg\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" data-slice-image=\"true\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"person__heading\">\n<p><span class=\"person__name\">The best PS5 controllers for all budgets<\/span><\/p>\n<aside class=\"person__role\">Our top picks based on hours and hours of testing<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr id=\"elk-766148f1-1f58-4060-81c0-9fbd14249c58\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-af5ac32e-1bd2-40a2-9bd2-f843c4148248\"><u><em><strong>Follow TechRadar for Google news<\/strong><\/em><\/u>    again<em> <\/em><em><strong>add us as a favorite resource <\/strong><\/em><em>to get our expert news, reviews, and opinions in your feed. Be sure to click the Follow button!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>And of course you can too <\/em><em><strong>follow TechRadar on TikTok<\/strong><\/em><em>    to get news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us <\/em><em><strong>WhatsApp <\/strong><\/em><em>again.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Microsoft executive Laura Fryer says Naughty Dog&#8217;s decision to cancel The Last of Us Online &#8220;it was the right call&#8221; He explains that the studio &#8220;made a very difficult choice&#8221; going forward and realized that we couldn&#8217;t continue with a live service game. Fryer also questioned why Naughty Dog greenlit it in the first [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4093","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-smart-home-gadgets"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiki-living.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiki-living.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiki-living.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiki-living.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiki-living.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4093"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiki-living.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4095,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiki-living.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4093\/revisions\/4095"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiki-living.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiki-living.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiki-living.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiki-living.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}