Game developer Naughty Dog has confirmed that work has started on new “The Last of Us” projects at the studio, though stopped short of calling either a direct sequel (ie. “The Last of Us Part III”).
In a charity stream on Monday marking the anniversary of the original 2013 game, studio head Neil Druckmann offered updates on where various projects stand at his studio.
At the moment, much of the studio is working on “Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet,” and Druckmann confirms it will ‘fully reveal’ the title next year:
“The team is heads down on what is shaping up to be Naughty Dog’s most ambitious game yet. There’s an electricity around the studio right now as all the pieces come together, and we’re stoked to finally unveil Intergalactic in all its glory. But…we need to cook for just a little bit longer.
So we want to set expectations: we’re going to be quiet for the rest of this year. In 2027, that changes. We’ll fully reveal Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and give you a proper look at Jordan’s wild sci-fi adventure. We know it’s been a long time since we’ve had much to share with you. We don’t take your continued support for granted. We’re working incredibly hard to make something worthy of your patience.”
When the talk turned towards “The Last of Us,” Ducksman surprised by using phrasing that includes the words ‘projects’ and ‘both’, essentially confirming two titles on the way:
“Since [feature documentary] Grounded II, we’ve talked about the possibility of telling more stories in the world of The Last of Us. We have a couple of very exciting new projects in very early stages – so we can’t say much about them at this point. I will tell you that both projects will expand the canon of The Last of Us beyond Part I and Part II.
The world of The Last of Us means a great deal to us, and we wouldn’t return to it unless we had something meaningful to say. We believe these stories are worth telling.”
We do know Naughty Dog spent years working on a “The Last of Us” multiplayer live service title dubbed ‘Factions,’ which Sony scrapped as it pivoted away from its live service push, and the obvious question arises as to whether the levels and assets created for that will be used in one of these titles.
We won’t know that for a while. Either way, it looks like both titles (and possibly “Intergalactic”) are likely to be debuting on PS6.
