The gaming industry and crunch have almost become synonymous with each other. The demand for quality titles has risen, and it has unfortunately caused some studios to sacrifice well-being to meet the demand. The studio behindThe Last of Us, Naughty Dog, is no stranger to crunch asThe Last of Us 2put a heavy toll on the development team. In an effort to combat that, it seems like crunch has reportedly been avoided this time around with the upcoming release ofThe Last of Us Part 1rapidly approaching.Crunch has been a bane of the gaming industry. The answer may seem to be as simple as delaying the game, but even games that are delayed have faced some sort of crunch. Naughty Dog has battled with crunch with previous titles and has spent time trying to reduce the cost of crunch despite co-presidentNeil Druckmann stating the solution isn’t clear. However, it seems the studio may have found a perfect balance this time around.RELATED:The Last of Us 2 Fan Creates Incredible Charcoal Drawings of Joel and Ellie After 256 HoursThe report of lack of crunch comes from Principal Environment Artist onThe Last of Us Part 1Anthony Vaccaro. He states that for the first time in his career he didn’t need to crunch to finish a game across the multitude of studios and projects he’s worked on. He also shares that while avoiding the need to crunch, the team managed to hit the same quality bar thatThe Last of Us 2set.
Vaccaro’s words come on the heels ofThe Last of Us Part 1officially going goldearlier today. With the industry trying to find a healthy balance between quality products and employee health, his words provide a picture that this can be achieved. There is much more work to be done for the studio, but it’s most certainly a welcome sign for the future of the team and the industry.
Despite the positive strides the studio is making, the overall product faces an extremely uphill battle. Fans have been quick to label this as a cash grab despite the remake’s Cinematic Animator, Robert Morrison, cosigning Vaccaro’s words on thequality ofThe Last of Usremake. The remake will most certainly be a technical spectacle, but some fans aren’t sure it’s one worth experiencing.
The Last of Us Part 1is scheduled to release on September 2 for PS5 with a PC version set to release at a later date.
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