The Last of Us has become one of Sony’s biggest and most important franchises. Ever since its groundbreaking original title was introduced in 2013, The Last of Us has become a rousing success that has even had a major impact on the future of Sony’s first-party titles. Its achievements not only spawned a sequel, but also led to the creation of an equally successful television series that will receive a second season later this year.
With how big the first two titles in The Last of Us series have been, there have naturally been some question marks concerning whether a third title will be made. However, series director and co-creator Neil Druckmann has kept expectations in check in regard to The Last of Us Part 3, telling Variety that fans would be wise not to “bet on” another game and noting that the TV series could be the last that fans see of the franchise. Still, Sony shouldn’t necessarily let the franchise go away forever, as there is still plenty of room to explore its world in future video games – even if they don’t focus on existing characters.
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Although Intergalactic will likely differ from The Last of Us in a lot of ways, it will probably share one of the franchise’s strengths.
Season 2 Shouldn’t Be The Last Of The Last Of Us
The Last Of Us’ World Has Plenty Of Room For Expansion
While there may not be a massive need for a proper third entry in The Last of Us franchise, Naughty Dog can continue to keep the franchise alive with spin-offs or entries set in the same world. Naturally, even if a new Last of Us Part were to happen, it would not have to center around Ellie, whose story was arguably wrapped up in Part 2. Thus, the next game could expand the world even further by focusing on completely new characters and locations.
After all, recent media in The Last of Us series has certainly taken measures to expand on the world and characters of the game even more. The third episode of the television series, where fans got a far deeper dive into Bill and Frank’s relationship than the games offered, is a great example of this. Of course, a new game likely wouldn’t focus on those two, but given that the series showed no reservations about expanding smaller aspects of the franchise’s lore, a new title that isn’t a direct sequel can do the same thing.
The Last Of Us Could Move Outside Its Home Country
Perhaps one of the biggest things a new title in The Last of Us series can do is move to an entirely new location. The first two games covered several parts of the United States already, but there is still so much unexplored territory that the first two games never covered. Neil Druckmann and his team are still spoiled for choice if they would like to show how the zombie apocalypse affected other parts of the country.
As a matter of fact, Naughty Dog can make an even bolder move by setting another game in the universe outside the United States to show the Cordyceps virus’ larger impact. The TV series already took a step in this direction, as the beginning of Episode 2 showcases a professor in Jakarta, Indonesia identifying the virus itself, and fearing that the city should be bombed as it has no cure or vaccine. Given that the game portrays a global pandemic but takes place across America, Naughty Dog could move outside the country to show the Cordyceps’ impact on a much larger scale.
Naughty Dog can make an even bolder move by setting another game in the universe outside the United States to show the Cordyceps virus’s larger impact.
Sony Needs To Continue To Foster IP Like The Last Of Us
Furthermore, as much as the consistent remakes/remasters of The Last of Us may be tiring for fans, it should be important for Sony as a publisher. Recently, Sony’s CFO Hiroki Totoki made a rather bizarre comment claiming that Sony does not have enough original, in-house-created IP. While this comment may confuse some fans, it is worth pointing out that Sony doesn’t give its IPs a long enough shelf life and tends to leave them to a specific console generation, so allowing The Last of Us to live on could help mitigate this issue a bit.
It’s probably for the better that Naughty Dog moves away from The Last of Us momentarily after the second season of the show drops, especially as the stydio works on its new title, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. Still, there’s plenty of room for further expansion in the franchise’s world with future titles, even if they aren’t technically The Last of Us Part 3.
- Released
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January 19, 2024
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Publisher(s)
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Sony Interactive Entertainment