NAUGHTY DOG suggest it’s not the last of THE LAST OF US…

With the record-breaking sales of the original PlayStation games and then the successful (if controversial) HBO adaptation of the title, interest in The Last of Us remains high.

The third (and likely final) season of the HBO show is currently filming and is expected to continue to mirror events in the games with a few diversions and changes along the way – shifting the perspective in the story to ‘antagonist’ Abby and the reasons for her actions. The original release of The Last of Us: Part Two game was a massive success, but its fans were divided over the killing of the original game’s male lead Joel Miller (voiced by Troy Baker). The same fate awaited the character in the HBO adaptation (played by Pedro Pascal) but it shocked and angered viewers who were unaware of the character’s predetermined fate. Added to that the opinion of one demographic that Bella Ramsey didn’t look sufficiently like the game’s version of Ellie (originally voiced by Ashley Johnson)…  it meant that some decided to switch off.  Then news came that Naughty Dog‘s Neal Druckmann – who had overseen the game and was intrinsically linked to the show to the extent of helping write and direct some of the HBO episodes – would no longer be involved. It meant that though the game and the show remained popular and lucrative, the future now looked uncertain.

For a long time there’s been rumours of a third game, though there was little real progress. Naughty Dog had moved on to their next project.  Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is a core science-fiction concept, far removed from The Last of Us and has been in production for several years. A teaser was released last year which certainly looked interesting. Currently, the expectation is that the finished game will release sometime in late 2027.

 

So where does that leave a The Last of Us: Part Three?

Neil Druckmann has given some updates this week in an interview with The Washington Post, discussing the current status of Naughty Dog‘s endeavours…though details remain almost as frustratingly vague as ever.  He confirmed that Naughty Dog ‘did not have a creative role in the direction of Season 3‘…. and ‘I wasn’t involved in shaping this season’s creative direction…‘ nor was Naughty Dog involved. ‘So, I can’t personally speak to how production is progressing…‘ –  which some speculated might mean more changes to the HBO show’s narrative than there had been during their collaboration on the first two seasons. Even with filming underway, it’s likely to be mid-2027 before that is seen on screens.

Despite that, Druckmann did confirm that ‘Naughty Dog remains the steward of this IP‘ and even though the HBO show might be coming to an end, he teased that “We’re not done with The Last of Us… there’s a couple projects in the works that, when the time is right, I’m very excited to talk about.”

Does that mean a third chapter? Well, Naughty Dog do seem to have been working on another title, but outside the company details remain almost non-existent or unconfirmed. Games do take years to develop, create and release, so if there is going to be a TLOU3, then it could be 2028, 2029 or beyond before we see it, if it’s already in production. And that’s if it is a game and not some other multimedia format.

Earlier this year, Troy Baker said in an interview with the Eurogamer site “I definitely know we’ve not seen the last of Joel, whether that be Naughty Dog or somebody else…‘ though it wasn’t clear on the context of what he knew.

26th September – the day civilisation started to collapse in the game – is often referred to as The Last of Us Day and it’s possible some sort of announcement will come later this month.

So… for the moment, as you were.