Neil Druckmann makes it clear that the history of the series the last of us It’s far from finished. The head of Naughty Dog and one of the main writers on the series said the studio continues to work on projects related to the popular universe but isn’t ready to reveal details yet.
The Last of Us Part 1 was released in 2013 and almost immediately became one of the highest-rated games of this generation. its continuation The Last of Us Part 2Although certain plot decisions caused serious controversy among fans, it also received highly positive reviews from critics and won many awards. Still, interest in the series continues unabated: Naughty Dog and Sony continue to churn out reissues and remakes, while HBO’s TV adaptations reach a wider audience.
Now HBO The third season of The Last of Us is in production and is expected to premiere in 2027. This time Abby will be at the center of the story. A significant part of the season will run parallel to the events of Ellie’s second season, and the finale should lead the TV story to the conclusion of the events of the second game. Meanwhile, season three will be the series’ last, but judging from Druckmann’s words, it’s too early to consider the series finished in terms of the game’s direction.
Druckmann said in an interview with the Washington Post naughty dog “I haven’t finished working on The Last of Us yet”. Furthermore, according to him, there are now “several projects” in the studio that developers will only talk about when they consider the right time. The author didn’t specify whether these projects are directly related to video games, but his claims have sparked a lot of speculation from fans.
One of the most obvious choices is The Last of Us Part 3. Rumors have swirled in recent years about a sequel, which could be Naughty Dog’s next big project after finishing work on Naughty Dog. Interstellar: Prophet of Heresy. Meanwhile, the third installment has yet to be officially announced, so any information about its plot and characters should be viewed as unconfirmed rumors only.
The question of a potential third game’s main character is also still up in the air. Bringing back Ellie seems like the most obvious choice due to her immense popularity, but it’s likely that Naughty Dog will abandon its usual approach and tell a new story with a different character. Previously, there were reports on the Internet that “The Last of Us 3” may focus on a new group of heroes. This hasn’t been confirmed yet, so it’s unclear if Ellie will be in the next game.
Another possibility remains a return to multiplayer. Naughty Dog has been working hard The Last of Us Onlinebut the project was ultimately cancelled. The studio abandoned the game because fully supporting it would have required significant resources and would have effectively turned Naughty Dog into a developer focused on constantly servicing one project. However, Druckmann’s statement itself does not indicate that the canceled game will be relaunched.
Another important point: Naughty Dog is no longer directly involved in the production of the TV series. Druckmann has confirmed this separately, so his comments about new projects are likely referring to the studio’s broader activities rather than future HBO seasons.
For now, Naughty Dog’s top priority remains StarCraft: Prophets of Heresy. The ambitious sci-fi project is expected to launch around 2027 or 2028, but in the latest presentation PlayStation Game Status He did not appear again. While there have been no official reports of problems with the project, it raises new questions about the status of the development.
So The Last of Us fans will have to be patient for now. Druckmann actually confirmed that Naughty Dog isn’t done with the series yet, but deliberately didn’t reveal what exactly was behind the two projects he mentioned. If we’re actually talking about a new game, it might be a few years before it’s officially announced.