Speaking to BuzzFeed, Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann says that he would love to do more with the world of The Last of Us, but it needs to make sense for a third entry to be made and the story needs to be there to tell.
Earlier this month, it was revealed the series has sold 37 million copies just as the hit adaption on HBO was set to air. Now, we look to the future of the series.
We know that the studio is working on a standalone Factions multiplayer game set in the universe of The Last of Us, which will include new characters and locations when it launches.
“I know there’s a bunch of people wondering about The Last of Us Part 3 and whether that will be a thing or not,” Druckmann said. “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.”
Naughty Dog has been a powerhouse studio for Sony, creating some of the brand’s most iconic franchises to date including Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter, Uncharted, and The Last of Us.
“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,” continues Druckman. “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.”
When asked about what fans might expect from a follow-up to The Last of Us Part 2, he said that it was possible.
“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 2, 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 2 and that will be the end.”
In April 2021, Neil Druckmann was invited as a guest to speak on the Script Apart podcast. On the show, he said that there was an outline for a third game.
