The Last of Us fans holding their breath for The Last of Us 3 are going to be holding it for a very long time. In fact, there is almost no doubt now that The Last of Us 3 release date will not come until the PS6 generation. There’s been no official or unofficial word of The Last of Us 3 and when it will release, but a new Naughty Dog reveal last week paints a picture.
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Since 2020, Naughty Dog has been working on a new sci-fi IP called Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. This has been its primary focus, but it has also worked on cancelled The Last of Us Online and various remasters since then. What it clearly has not been working on is The Last of Us 3. If it has been, it has been in pre-production.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet has not been given a release date, which seemingly rules out a 2025 release. If the game was going to release in 2025, this would have been communicated in the reveal. This likely means a 2026 release date, though the reveal trailer may actually hint at a 2027 release date.
The Last of Us 3 will presumably not begin production, at least full production, until Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet releases. And from there it will be several years until it finishes development and releases. To this end, it seems unlikely the game will release anytime this decade, with a release in the early 2030s seemingly more likely at this point. And with the PS6 leaked to release in 2028, it will certainly be a PS6 game, and probably a PS6-only game.
The last time Naughty Dog made a Last of Us game, it took about four years of full production. If it begins full production in 2026-2027 this would peg it for a release in 2030-2031. That said, this is just speculation. Right now, the game hasn’t even been announced yet. It is inevitable, but it appears to be getting some much needed rest with Naughty Dog focused on its first new IP in over a decade.
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