The Last Of Us Part 3 May Be Closer Than We Thought
Despite Naughty Dog's original PlayStation 3 masterpiece, "The Last of Us," dropping over 11 years ago, the world of "The Last of Us" is still very much on gamers' minds. That's because not only did the game get a sequel, "The Last of Us Part 2," in 2020, but the first entry was recently remastered for PlayStation 5 to include new features and updated graphics. In addition, the series also has a live-action HBO series starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey premiering in January and a standalone multiplayer game titled "The Last of Us Factions" in the works.
So, it's clear that Naughty Dog is not done with the world of "The Last of Us." But since the sequel was released, fans have wondered if there would ever be the "Last of Us Part 3." Mainly because the ending of "The Last of Us Part 2" satisfyingly closed many doors.
Neil Druckmann at Naughty Dog previously mentioned that he and another writer created an outline for what could be "The Last of Us Part 3," but nothing was started on the development side. But recently, a prominent leaker alleged that "The Last of Us Part 3" is finally in the works and may come out sooner than fans expect.
The Last of Us Part 3 may already be in development
On December 13, 2022, Twitter user ViewerAnon alleged that "The Last of Us Part 3" is the next game in production by Neil Druckmann at Naughty Dog. Of course, many were quick to distrust a random Twitter account. However, ViewerAnon, in a Twitter reply, claimed to have leaked details about "The Last of Us" HBO show before they were released, in addition to revealing the existence of "Crash Bandicoot 4." And a few replies corroborated that ViewerAnon is a trusted leaker in the movie scene.
Assuming the rumor is true, some started speculating when the game would release. Mike Dima on Twitter theorized that if the game were still in the story outline phase in April 2021, the game likely wouldn't release until 2026 or 2027 at the earliest. However, it is impossible to predict how long a game of this scale will take to develop.
Still, some were disappointed not to hear news about a new IP from Naughty Dog. At the same time, other "The Last of Us" fans were ecstatic to hear the news. Some even speculated about what the story of "The Last of Us 3" would be like, theorizing that the sequel's protagonist Abby would return in search of a cure for the infected.