Neogaf: Destiny 2 is such a shit game.
Steam:
Mostly positive for recent reviews, even after a bad expansion. Hopefully a lesson was learned from lightfall and the delay of final shape will help it be better.
Also, no one here played the factions game that was canceled. So no one here is able to judge it's quality. It could have actually sucked.
Being a Naughty Dog game, I doubt the game sucked, more likely the problem was sustainability and monetization path.
I think the rumors and hyperbole around the game area are likely overstated.
I'm guessing they were planning to release the game in late spring or early summer to cash in on the hype of the tv show and the release of the PC game, but when it didn't meet expectations they decided to delay the game.
In deciding to delay the game it doesn't make sense to maintain a level of support for the game or QA testers who are on contract. It also may make more sense to focus on other games while they think about the monetization structure of the game and create a new roadmap.
They almost certainly want to get TLOU2 ready for PS5 and PC for season 2, but my guess is season 2 is going to be delayed maybe up to early 2025.
So the actor strike itself may be a good reason to delay the online game further.
I think the delays around the show and the game probably pushed Naughty Dog off the 2024 slate, and when that became clear, they had to reduce costs.
TLOU Online - Initially planned for 2023
TLOU2 PS5/PC - Initially planned for 2024
New IP - Originally planned for 2025/2026
Then you probably have complications due to the likely Uncharted game not faring well at Sony Visual Arts, meaning Naughty Dog has probably been brought in to take over that game as well. That being either Uncharted Reboot or Uncharted 5.
So if Naughty Dog has to take over Uncharted, do Neil's new IP, manage the port of TLOU2 in-house since they don't trust Iron Galaxy anymore, you could see why things would get shuffled and why they might lay some non-essential staff off.
So if you think about
TLOU Online
TLOU 2 PS5/PC
New IP
Uncharted
That is a lot of potential work, so would it be at all surprising to delay TLOU Online or put it on ice?