From Joel’s fate to the recent HBO series that raised some eyebrows, The Last of Us is one of those franchises that has a lot going on ever since its first game’s release back in 2013. And now, two years after the cancellation of The Last of Us Online, it seems like the director of that project is about to seek his fortune in the Far East.
The idea of an online game in the world of The Last of Us still sticks in my mind for a couple of hours whenever it is brought up. It was said that the game was designed to be a looter-shooter, something that fits just right into the current trend of the genre in 2025. The Last of Us going up against Call of Duty 2026‘s DMZ, Arc Raiders, Escape From Tarkov, and Marathon? Yes, please!

Naughty Dog had to choose between online and narrative-based games, and well, you can guess what happened after The Last of Us Online was canceled. However, Vinit Agarwal, the director behind one of the many canceled and failed online game projects by Sony, has not given up on following his passion. Next stop, Japan.
In Agrawal’s post, he’s “forming a game studio,” but it’s unclear what his next projects will be. The former Naughty Dog employee has worked on many of the best PlayStation exclusives we know and love, like the Uncharted series and The Last of Us Part II, so anything coming from this talent is worth following.
But no matter how great the game and how talented the developers are, releasing an online shooter in the market these days is a risky proposition, to say the least.