Last Sentinel is reportedly halted in its current form
Tencent has reportedly decided not to continue development of Last Sentinel in its existing form after roughly six years of work. Around 80 employees at Lightspeed LA were laid off this week in connection with the decision, according to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier.
Wccftech’s account of Bloomberg’s reporting describes the project as effectively shut down following years of production problems. Tencent disputes the suggestion of a complete shutdown, saying it plans “to shift the creative and development direction of Last Sentinel to meet player expectations.”
The company also says Lightspeed LA “remains open and continues to build games.” Tencent has not explained what the revised direction involves, whether the existing project will retain its scope, or how many employees remain at the Irvine, California studio.
Negative playtests followed years of production problems
Bloomberg reports that Last Sentinel failed to meet Tencent’s internal quality targets after missed deadlines and budget overruns. An internal playtest earlier this year reportedly produced near-unanimous negative feedback, with testers describing the game as “not fun to play.”
Tencent leadership then gave the team until July to produce a substantially improved build, according to the report. Todd Papy, known for his work on the God of War series, joined as creative director during the final three months and worked on combat, missions, and other central systems.
The revised build reportedly remained below Tencent’s expectations for graphical fidelity, polish, and overall quality. Sources cited by Bloomberg estimated that the project had a budget of hundreds of millions of dollars, although Tencent has not publicly confirmed an exact figure.
Former developers also described slow decision-making, an unclear creative vision, and a polarising management style under studio founder Steve Martin. Lightspeed LA had recruited experienced developers from Naughty Dog, Rockstar, Blizzard, and other studios, but its workforce reportedly numbered in the hundreds rather than the couple of thousand people who contributed to Red Dead Redemption 2.
The public reveal showed ambition but no gameplay
Last Sentinel was publicly presented as a cyberpunk open-world crime game set in a futuristic reimagining of Tokyo. The project featured a female protagonist and was intended to combine a large vertical city with driving, traversal, and freeform open-world systems.
Lightspeed LA unveiled the game at The Game Awards 2023 with a cinematic trailer. Four subsequent development diaries focused on the story, creative direction, and production team, but none showed raw gameplay.
The studio never announced a release date or platform list. Players therefore had no preorder or launch decision to make, but the reported halt removes a prominent original project from Tencent’s attempt to build big-budget games around experienced Western development teams.
The future of Last Sentinel remains unresolved. Tencent’s statement leaves room for a reworked version, a smaller project, or a different development arrangement, but the company has not disclosed which path it plans to take.
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