‘The Last of Us’ Might Not Be Getting a Third Game According to Its Creative Director (But Nobody Believes That)

The Last of Us has cemented itself not only as one of the PlayStation’s best franchises — but gaming as a whole. The Last of Us Part 2 somehow managed to achieve the narrative highs of its predecessor! …And led to many an exhausting conversation about certain plot elements and characters, but that’s neither here nor there! Well, if a recent Neil Druckmann interview conducted by Variety is anything to look at, the buck might stop at Part 2.

“I guess the only thing I would say is don’t bet on there being more of ‘Last of Us.’ This could be it,” Druckmann tells the publication. But, I recall something similar said about the first The Last of Us. And look where that went. Many TLoU fans don’t seem to be too convinced, either.

“TLOU is arguably Sony’s biggest IP, no way on earth there isn’t another one. I’d be ok with Ellie’s story ending but honestly, as long as Druckmann and Hailey Gross have an idea, I’m absolutely down for a third,” one person says. Yeah, the Last of Us IP effectively prints boatloads of money. In the most cynical light, it’s hard to imagine Sony/PlayStation not at least trying.

but then, where else could ‘the last of us’ possibly go?

(Spoilers ahead for the franchise as a whole.)

I don’t know, though. Naughty Dog walked the “Violence Begets Violence” theme dry at this point. Joel’s gone, Ellie’s a mess, Abby is… somewhere, and honestly, where else could we go? A 20-year timeskip with older “Punished Ellie”? Where we learn that, indeed, violence is a neverending, all-consuming cycle? Granted, Druckmann and the rest of the team have proven they know better than us goofballs on the internet.

Also, Season 3 of the show has already been greenlit. Clearly, there’s going to be something to potentially go off of for a follow-up game (assuming the second season fully covers the second game as the first season covered the first). I suppose all we can do is wait and see. Oh, and exhaust the well-worn joke of “Well, Ellie, I guess we really are [REDACTED].”