After teasing fans with plans for additional The Last of Us content earlier this month, Naughty Dog studio head Neil Druckmann once again teased fans of future titles in the series in a note posted on the studio’s blog. Druckmann stated that two projects set in the world of The Last of Us are currently in the “very early stages” of development that aim to “expand the canon” of the series beyond Part I and Part II.
“Since [the 2024 The Last of Us Part II documentary Grounded II], we’ve talked about the possibility of telling more stories in the world of The Last of Us,” says Druckmann. “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.”
This is somewhat in contrast to what Druckmann said last year when asked about a third entry in the series. Druckman at the time stated that his concept for the proposed third game would be “as exciting as I, as exciting as II, is its own thing, yet has this through-line for all three.” However, Druckmann also said that the two entries would be the only ones in the series. “I guess the only thing I would say is don’t bet on there being more of ‘Last of Us.’ This could be it.”
This news also comes after Druckmann announced last July that he would be stepping away from the third (and final) season of the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us, which is currently slated for release next year, and will focus on Abby (played by Kaitlyn Dever).