Recently, Naughty Dog, the renowned video game development company, released a two-hour documentary on the making of The Last of Us Part 2. This highly contentious and critically acclaimed game has captured the attention of gamers worldwide. However, amidst the documentary, some exciting news emerged. Neil Druckmann, the creative director of the game, mentioned that he has come up with a concept for The Last of Us Part 3, implying that there may be one more chapter to this gripping story.
Initially, speculations arose that The Last of Us Part 3 would be strategically timed to release alongside the HBO series adaptation, providing additional content for the show's second and third seasons. However, based on Druckmann's comments, this timeline appears unlikely. Naughty Dog's next release will not be The Last of Us Part 3, but rather an entirely different project, possibly a science fiction game being developed in collaboration with Sony. It is important to note that Naughty Dog has explicitly declared itself a single-player studio after their plans for The Last of Us Factions, a multiplayer component, did not come to fruition.
Considering these developments, it appears that The Last of Us Part 3 is still far into the future. It is reasonable to speculate that the game may not see the light of day until the next decade, given the necessary development time and the release of another new game before it. In fact, with the current stage being merely the 'concept' phase, it is safe to assume that the game may not be released before 2030.
While no hints have been provided about the story content of The Last of Us Part 3, it is highly likely that the protagonist Ellie will return. However, as the second game surprised players by primarily excluding Joel, speculating on the narrative direction is challenging. Another intriguing question arises regarding the character Abby, whose role in the story remains uncertain after the events of the second game.
Interestingly, the casting for Abby in the second season of the show, titled The Last of Us, has recently been finalized. Kaitlyn Dever, who initially auditioned for the role of Ellie, will portray Abby. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing strikes, fans will have to wait until 2025 for the arrival of the second season of The Last of Us.
In terms of a possible release date for The Last of Us Part 3, it is difficult to predict. By generously estimating, a five-year waiting period seems plausible. Considering that the gap between The Last of Us Part 1 and Part 2 spanned seven years, with the inclusion of Uncharted 4 in between, a potential release in 2027 could have been expected. However, since the game is still at the concept stage, it does not bode well for a release within the next few years. Therefore, it appears that we will have a long wait ahead, potentially playing The Last of Us Part 3 on the next generation PlayStation console, the PS6.
If you're interested in staying up to date with further news and updates from Naughty Dog, be sure to follow them on Twitter, Threads, YouTube, and Instagram. Additionally, don't forget to check out the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy, two thrilling science-fiction novels written by the author of this blog.
