The Last of Us 2 / Naughty Dog
Neil Druckmann’s new commentary may disappoint fans who have been waiting for The Last of Us Part 3.
Naughty Dog’s co-president hinted that the HBO TV adaptation will probably be the last chapter of the story. A few years ago, Druckmann had ideas for the third part and even suggested that the game could become a reality. But now his mood has changed.
«I was waiting for this question. I guess the only thing I would say is don’t bet on there being more of Last of Us. This could be it», he said.
The Last of Us Part 2 was released in 2020, and since then, the hype around the series has only grown. HBO has released a very successful adaptation of the first part, а the second season about adult Ellie will start soon. In total, HBO plans to stretch the story over three or four seasons.
Even before Druckmann’s announcement, fans were theorizing that his ideas could be adapted directly into an HBO series. But their dreams are in question due to the words of Druckmann and showrunner Craig Mazin. Both said that they did not want to adapt a story that did not yet exist in the game universe. However, in the second season, they promised to show «an important backstory» that is not in the game. Just like in the first season, there was a love story «survivalist» Bill and his partner Frank, who caused a negative reaction from fans. So it’s hard to say whether their opinions will change now.
Perhaps the developers not only want to stop «chewing» the franchise, but also realize the risks of failure of the next game. Gamers had a rather mixed reception to The Last of Us 2, so the success of the third installment would be a big question mark. Even if they started developing it right now — the game would hardly appear before 2030. Druckmann’s statement directly hints that they don’t want to spend another decade of their lives on this franchise alone.
Meanwhile, Naughty Dog is focusing on other projects, including remaster of The Last of Us Part 2 and the series. In addition, the studio is developing a brand-new game — Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
Also, the developers managed to wrap up another project — The Last of Us Online. It appears that the studio is focusing on creating single-player games, abandoning the live service. This is not to imply that the trend of abandoning multiplayer games is unique in the industry. «The most recent example is Sony — the company held «a wave of» layoffs among those who worked on Uncharted, Concord, and The Last of Us.