The Last of Us Part 3 appears to be officially in the works. The Last of Us is one of the biggest franchises in gaming and it has been one of the most important IPs at Naughty Dog and PlayStation. The first game was a tremendous success and elevated the already successful developer to new heights and gave them a series to juggle alongside Uncharted. It was so successful that it even spawned an award-winning television series on HBO that has helped the game continue to succeed by exposing it to new audiences who have gone on to pick up the games for themselves across PS4, PS5, and PC. However, there has been some ambiguity over whether we get a third game and when that third game may come, especially since Naughty Dog appears to be juggling other projects including a new IP.
With that said, a new documentary was released today about the making of The Last of Us Part II and it ends with series creator Neil Druckmann talking about the future of the series. The game director noted that he had previously been quoting as having an outline for The Last of Us Part 3, but noted that wasn’t true, he was imagining some kind of spin-off thing with Tommy that was its own standalone story. He has been trying to figure out a story for years and hasn’t had one and while he still doesn’t have the entire thing cracked, he does have an exciting concept for a third game and believes there is one more story to tell in the world of The Last of Us. He was also clear that they wouldn’t make it if they didn’t have the right idea as he believed The Last of Us Part II is a good ending if that’s the way it needs to be, but it seems it’s finally happening.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“The great thing about working at Naughty Dog is that we don’t have to,” said Druckmann. “It’s always like, we would love another Last of Us, but if you guys are passionate about something else, we’ll support this other thing. Very privileged position to be in. I never take that for granted. I’ve been thinking about, ‘Is there a concept there?’ And for now years, I haven’t been able to find that concept. But recently that’s changed. I don’t have a story, but I do have that concept, that, to me, is as exciting as I, as exciting as II, is its own thing, yet has this through-line for all three. So it does feel like there’s probably one more chapter to this story.”
We’re not quite sure when Druckmann recorded this bit for the documentary, but it does seem like it’s fairly recent. With that said, The Last of Us Part 3 may still be years away. It sounds like work is only just beginning on it within the last year or so at best and Naughty Dog’s next game may be something else entirely. Nevertheless, it does seem like it will happen!
