We've got some bad news and some... potentially not bad news...
Off the back of
The Last Of Us show landing to huge viewership and
amazing reviews, all eyes have turned to the games that the show is based on. The first game received a next-gen update in 2022, reminding everyone just
how fantastic it is, with Part II initially released in 2020 to some astounding responses, and gamers have been wondering when we might be seeing The Last Of Us Part III.
Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann, who is the creator of the games series and an executive producer of the TV adaptation, sat down with
Buzzfeed to discuss the future of the games series. He also mentions the future of the
Uncharted series, which was another Naughty Dog creation:
"We've been pretty open that the next Last of Us game is going to be this multiplayer experience, where you'll be able to enter the world of The Last of Us with your friend and get to experience the tension and the brutality of that world - and a brand new story and cast of characters that live in another city that we haven't seen yet in the world of The Last of Us. This is going to be another chapter in the universe of The Last of Us.
"Beyond that, I know there's a bunch of people wondering about The Last of Us Part III and whether that will be a thing or not. All I could say is, at Naughty Dog we're very, very privileged that our publisher is Sony - which means Sony funds our games, supports us, and we're owned by Sony.
"They have supported us every step of the way to follow our passions - meaning that just because something is successful, people think there's all this pressure and we have to make a sequel. That's not the case. For us, Uncharted was insanely successful - Uncharted 4 was one of our best selling games - and we're able to put our final brushstroke on that story and say that we're done. We're moving on.
"Likewise, with The Last of Us, it's up to us whether we want to continue it or not. Our process is the same thing we did when we did Part II, which is if we can come up with a compelling story that has this universal message and statement about love - just like the first and second game did - then we will tell that story. If we can't come up with something, we have a very strong ending with Part II and that will be the end."
So while it would appear that Naughty Dog are done with Uncharted, that doesn't mean Sony couldn't potentially hand the franchise to another developer for the next outing. Indeed, there are rumours that the first game will be the getting a next-gen update itself, but for now, that remains to be proven true.
As for The Last Of Us Part III... the first sequel arrived seven years after the first game, so there is every chance that Naughty Dog might not have a threequel arrive before 2027, if at all. Beyond the release of The Last Of Us multiplayer game, there are yet more rumours that Naughty Dog are working on a fantasy game set within a new gaming universe. But, again, who knows? Watch this space... but at least for now,
we've still got the show.
