This project would revolve around a man and a girl traveling through a broken America—essentially the plot of the original The Last of Us. What makes his post interesting is a mention of “the few stops that remain on the road ahead.”

“Cleaning out the garage today and stumbled on my original sketches from 2003 for a game pitch about a man, his surrogate daughter, and a trek across a broken America,” he wrote. “Been a wild journey. Grateful for every part of it, especially the few stops that remain on the road ahead.”

It is worth noting that the concept art itself doesn’t really mean much anymore, especially since the design behind The Last of Us protagonists Joel and Ellie would see massive changes since 2003, thanks in large part to the advancements in console hardware made at the time. As for the franchise’s future, while Druckmann could simply be referring to the 2027-bound third season of HBO’s The Last of Us, the fact that he used the plural “few stops” indicates that there might be even more in the works.

While he has largely been quiet about the idea of a third The Last of Us game, Druckmann had revealed back in February 2024 that he had some ideas for a third part already in mind. At the time, he noted that he only had “a concept” for it, however, and didn’t have a full story that would fit that concept. Discussing the ending of the first two games, he questioned whether there was potential for more.

“If we never get to do it again, this is a fine ending point. That last bite of the apple, the story’s done,” he said. “The great thing about working at Naughty Dog is that we don’t have to. So it’s always like, we would love another Last of Us, but if you guys are passionate about something else, we’ll support this other thing. Very privileged position to be in. I never take that for granted.”

“I’ve been thinking about, ‘is there a concept there?’ And for now years, I haven’t been able to find that concept- but recently that’s changed. I don’t have a story, but I do have that concept, that, to me, is as exciting as 1, as exciting as 2, is its own thing, and yet has this throughline for all three. So it does feel like there’s probably one more chapter to this story.”

More recently, Druckmann has been busy with Naughty Dog’s next major game—Intergalactic. While few concrete details about it have been revealed since its original announcement, Druckmann recently teased that we might see an actor from The Last of Us returning in the sci-fi game.

“We don’t tend to plan too much in the future, because we find — and this is something I inherited, it’s just the Naughty Dog culture — that we do our best work when it’s something we’re really excited about, really passionate about,” said Druckmann.

Following the success of The Last of Us Part 2, he recalls the team debating about “whether we should just go straight into ‘The Last of Us 3,’ and we had a really long period where we looked at ideas for maybe what could be in that game. We looked at — we have ‘Uncharted‘ as an IP, we have ‘Jak and Daxter‘ as an IP. But the team was really excited to do this sci-fi thing that we’ve been talking about for a while, and that’s where our passions lie, so that’s where we’re moving forward.”

If Intergalactic is a success, then Druckmann is sure that players will “see it again,” but that doesn’t mean it will be Naughty Dog’s next game. “Whether that will be our next game right after that, I can’t say, and I leave that door open. Not to be coy for this particular question, we want to see how we feel once we’re done with it and look at the options in front of us, because we have some other ideas that we’d like to explore as well.”

Druckmann previously said he had a “concept” in mind for The Last of Us Part 3, but not the full story. Of course, he would more recently tell Santa Monica Studio’s Cory Barlog that he didn’t have the confidence to plan sequels in advance. Speaking to Variety last March, he revealed that The Last of Us Part 2 could very well be the end of the series, but as his latest statements indicate, there’s no guarantee.

Regardless, it’ll be a while before Intergalactic launches on PS5, so in the meantime, head here for Druckmann’s thoughts on how it’s the studio’s most ambitious and expansive title yet.

With that, many have taken it as a fact that Naughty Dog will, at some point, make The Last of Us Part 3. However, series creator and Naughty Dog head honcho Neil Druckmann himself isn’t quite so sure.

Speaking in a recent interview with Variety, when asked about a third Last of Us game, Druckmann said there are no guarantees that Naughty Dog will make one and that 2020’s The Last of Us Part 2 could be the end of the series.

“I was waiting for this question. I guess the only thing I would say is don’t bet on there being more of Last of Us. This could be it.”

Of course, it’s fair to say that few will believe him, and many might even strongly believe that The Last of Us Part 3 is in the works right now. Druckmann himself has certainly made statements in the past that seemingly allude to that being the case.

Back in 2021, he said he had a story outline in mind for The Last of Us Part 3. Meanwhile, in a development documentary for The Last of Us Part 2 released last year, Druckmann spoke once again about his ideas for a sequel, saying, “it does feel like there’s probably one more chapter to this story.” Read more on through here.

In 2023, Naughty Dog confirmed it had multiple major single-player titles in development. Last December, one of those was officially confirmed to be a sci-fi action-adventure game Intergalactic.

The Last of Us franchise has sold over 37 million units as of January 2023. Season 2 of HBO’s adaptation premieres next month.

In a profile published by GQ, it has been confirmed by Naughty Dog president Neil Druckmann that the studios next project, directed by himself, will once again feature Baker in a role- though details, as you may imagine, are currently scarce. “In a heartbeat I would always work with Troy,” Druckmann said.

Druckmann has, of course, been heavily involved in pretty much every Naughty Dog game released in the last decade, having starred as Joel Miller in The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part 2, and Sam Drake in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. 

Whether Baker’s return means Naughty Dog’s next project is a new Last of Us entry (what with the studio being done with Uncharted and everything) remains to be seen. That said, Naughty Dog has previously confirmed it is working on multiple flagship single-player narrative-driven games, so there’s certainly a chance that that’s one of several projects currently in the works at the developer.

Currently, Baker has prominent roles in two major upcoming titles, with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle launches in December and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach arriving next year.

GRAND THEFT AUTO 6 GAMEPLAY

Rockstar Games does things at its own pace and leisure, so it’s very unlikely that the company is going to bother aligning its plans with an event rather than just dropping a new trailer of GTA 6 online whenever it’s good and ready. It’s highly unlikely, then, that we see a new trailer of the open world crime epic at Summer Game Fest or at Xbox Games Showcase or what have you- but boy oh boy would there be an explosion of hype if we did.

BLOODBORNE REMAKE/REMASTER

Looking at the way Sony treats the game, you wouldn’t believe that Bloodborne is widely considered one of the greatest games ever made, let alone one of the best first-party PlayStation games of all time, because even as demand for a Bloodborne sequel or remake or remaster or, hell, even a 60 FPS patch, grows louder, Sony insists on responding to that demand with pure silence. The chances of a Bloodborne remaster or remake ever happening are slim, but some part of us is just never going to be able to let go of that last shred of hope.

THE ELDER SCROLLS 6

Even though it’s been six years since Bethesda announced The Elder Scrolls 6, it doesn’t take a genius to know that there’s zero chance we’re going to see it at the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase. The fantasy RPG entered production only a few months ago, while Bethesda is still also very much focused on post-launch support for Starfield. Are we going to see the sci-fi RPG’s first expansion? Almost certainly. But The Elder Scrolls 6? Unfortunately, as awesome as it would be, it just isn’t going to happen for a few years yet.

THE LAST OF US PART 3

While it’s unlikely that The Last of Us is the sort of franchise that’s just going to go on forever, it’s also almost definitely not done just yet. At the very least, fans expect one more game to round out Ellie’s story- but though that’s almost definitely going to happen at some point in the future, it’s highly unlikely that it’s going to happen anytime in the near future, much less the coming days. We’ll be all kinds of hyped when The Last of Us Part 3 really is announced, but we doubt it’ll happen anytime soon.

HALF-LIFE 3

Thanks to Half-Life: Alyx, this is no longer completely a joke inclusion. The 2020 VR game was like a bolt out of the blue, and impossibly enough, it once again gave series fans hopes that maybe Half-Life was going to have a future after all. Of course, you can never be too sure that Valve is ever going to do what you expect it will, so there’s still no guarantees that a new Half-Life game will ever come out- but there’s at least a semi-decent chance that it does, and if that happens, our excitement is going to be through the roof.

THE WITCHER 4

Cyberpunk 2077 was a major bump in the road for CD Projekt RED (if we’re putting it mildly), but after having righted those wrongs with post-launch updates and the excellent Phantom Liberty, the developer is now ready to return to the Witcher universe. Geralt of Rivia’s story is over, but CDPR has now started working on another new game in the series that will kickstart its own trilogy. The game is supposed to enter full production before the end of the year, so we’re not going to get an announcement just yet- but slowly but surely, it’s cooking behind the scenes, and we’re keeping one eye glued to it.

THE NEXT LIKE A DRAGON/JUDGMENT

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio puts out Like a Dragon and Judgment games at an incredible pace, which means even though it’s only been a few months since Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth came out, it’s not completely nuts to already start looking to the future. Given how long it’s been since Lost Judgment, it’s likely that a third instalment is what’s next for RGG Studio, but even so, we don’t think an announcement is coming just yet. Whenever it does though, given the developer’s track record, it goes without saying that we’re going to be more than a little keen to get our hands on whatever game ends up getting announced.

ACE COMBAT 8

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is five years old, so fans can’t be blamed for growing antsy about when the series’ next instalment will be announced, and if recent leaks are to be believed, Ace Combat 8 is indeed what Bandai Namco has lined up as its next big game. Do we expect an announcement in the coming days, especially with the publisher also focusing on Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree? Probably not. The announcement is very likely coming soon though, and we couldn’t be more excited.

DEATH STRANDING 2 GAMEPLAY

Admittedly, this one isn’t as unlikely as many of the others we’ve spoken about in this feature, especially given how often we see Kojima trailers at Geoff Keighley events, but the fact that Sony didn’t showcase a new trailer of the game at its recent State of Play might suggest that maybe there just isn’t anything to show yet. Is there a chance that we still see a trailer at Summer Game Fest? There probably is- and we hope that that does happen, because Death Stranding 2 is looking set to be one of 2025’s biggest releases.

DINO CRISIS REVIVAL

Probably the textbook definition of a pie-in-the-sky dream scenario. There’s been loud demand for a revival of the Dino Crisis franchise for a while now, but though Capcom looks to have aggressive plans for remakes where Resident Evil is concerned, it doesn’t look like the company is eying a Dino Crisis revival just yet. We hope that it does end up happening sooner rather than later though, because a modern survival horror Dino Crisis game built in the RE Engine would be just too good to pass up.

NEXT MASS EFFECT

BioWare confirmed that it was working on the next Mass Effect game several years ago at this point, but the sci-fi RPG is still in pre-production, which means it’s still going to be at least few years before the game releases. Given that, and the fact that BioWare and EA are probably going to be focusing on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf this summer, how likely is it that we see glimpses of the next Mass Effect in the coming days? Not likely at all, unfortunately. We’re happy to be patient though, in the hope that it turns out to be worth the wait- which, admittedly, will be a tall order.

CONTROL 2

Remedy Entertainment only just released Alan Wake 2 less than a year ago, and the developer recently confirmed that Control 2 had still yet to enter full production. Is there a chance, then, that Control 2 gets announced at one of the upcoming events? All signs are pointing to no, especially since it’s looking likely that Remedy will instead be showcasing Alan Wake 2 DLC. Whenever Control 2 does get unveiled however, given how excellent the first game was, you can bet excitement for its sequel is going to be sky-high.

MAX PAYNE 1 AND 2 REMAKE

Max Payne 1 and 2 Remake is probably going to be Remedy’s next big project after Alan Wake 2, especially with the developer having confirmed that the combined remake will be entering full production soon. What that means, then, is that though it’s unlikely to get unveiled in the coming days, chances are high that it will be announced within the coming year or two. When that happens, you can look forward to widespread fervent anticipation, because the return of Max Payne is something we’ve been desperately waiting for for a long, long time.

MIYAZAKI AND FROMSOFTWARE’S NEXT GAME

When FromSoftware releases a new game, especially one directed by the mastermind Hidetaka Miyazaki, the entire industry sits up and takes notice, and that obviously will happen whenever it happens next. It won’t be happening anytime soon though, because FromSoftware is going to be entirely focused on Elden Ring’s upcoming expansion over the coming couple of weeks. Given the speed at which the studio works, there’s a good chance that we’ll be hearing about its next game faster than some may think, but we do think it’s unlikely that that happens as soon as this summer season.

METAL GEAR SOLID MASTER COLLECTION VOL. 2

A compilation of a bunch of old games wouldn’t be a hugely exciting thing under ordinary circumstances, but there’s a good chance that the next time Konami puts out a Master Collection for Metal Gear Solid games, it will also include Metal Gear Solid 4, making that game playable on a system other than the PS3 for the firs time ever. Our hope is that that happens sooner rather than later, but there’s been little to no indication of late that Konami will be making those announcements in the near future. We hope we’re wrong though, because we’re always down to return to Metal Gear.

Starting off, Druckmann addressed an interview he did several months after The Last of Us Part 2’s launch, where he said an outline for a third game was in place. According to Druckmann, that story was supposed to be a smaller one in scale and would be focused on Tommy. Whether or not Naughty Dog will ever actually bring that story to light is up in the air, but at the time, when the outline was written, according to Druckmann, the studio had other priorities- like fixing its internal pipelines and working practices to quash years of crunch-related issues.

“I did some other interview where someone asked me about The Last of Us, and would there be any more stories or something,” he said. “I mentioned we have written a story that takes place after The Last of Us Part 2 that stars Tommy, and I hope one day we get the make it. And the headlines across the industry were like, ‘Naughty Dog has outlined The Last of Us Part 3. And that’s actually wrong. It was always a small story, it was never like a full title.

“At the time, we had higher priorities at Naughty Dog, to fix our pipeline, to fix our work-life balance issues. Just based on where we were, I didn’t prioritize that story, so that story was shelved. I still believe one day it will see the light of day. I don’t know if it’ll be a game or a show… TBD.”

So does that mean Naughty Dog has nothing in mind for The Last of Us Part 3? Well, not exactly. Druckmann went on to explain that though he doesn’t have a fully-formed story in mind for the series’ next game yet, he does have a concept that he feels would serve as a natural extension of the first two games- even though he does seem to suggest that for now, the studio might be focused on something else that it’s “passionate about”.

“The first game had such a clean concept of the unconditional love a parent feels for their child,” Druckmann said. “The second one, once we landed on this idea of the pursuit of justice at any cost, justice for the ones you love, it felt like there’s a clean concept here, and there’s a throughline from the first game about love.

“If we never get to do it again, this is a fine ending point. That last bite of the apple, the story’s done. The great thing about working at Naughty Dog is that we don’t have to. So it’s always like, we would love another Last of Us, but if you guys are passionate about something else, we’ll support this other thing. Very privileged position to be in. I never take that for granted.”

“I’ve been thinking about, ‘is there a concept there?’ And for now years, I haven’t been able to find that concept- but recently that’s changed,” Druckmann continued. “I don’t have a story, but I do have that concept, that, to me, is as exciting as 1, as exciting as 2, is its own thing, and yet has this throughline for all three. So it does feel like there’s probably one more chapter to this story.”

This particular interview, as confirmed in the documentary, was filmed in April 2023, which, combined with Druckmann’s quotes, would suggest that The Last of Us Part 3 is still several years away. As Naughty Dog confirmed in December, however, it has more than one major single player game in development, which could mean that the one that isn’t Last of Us – presumably a new IP, since Naughty Dog says it’s done with Uncharted – will release before a Part 3.

Grounded 2: Making The Last of Us Part 2 was released for free shortly after the release of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. The remastered release of the critically acclaimed title features upgraded visuals, a new roguelike mode, and other bonuses on top of the already-impressive main story mode.

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is available exclusively on the PS5. For more details, check out our review, where we gave the title a score of 9 out of 10.

The same was confirmed by the developer in the official blog post announcing The Last of Us Online’s cancellation. Naughty Dog wrote, “We have more than one ambitious, brand new single player game that we’re working on here at Naughty Dog, and we cannot wait to share more about what comes next when we’re ready.”

Studio president and creative director Neil Druckmann previously confirmed in June last year that his next directorial single player project had entered development.

What these projects are, or how many of them are simultaneously being worked on, is anyone’s guess right now – and Naughty Dog itself probably won’t be making any announcements on that front in the near future – but as always, there’s no shortage of speculation and rumours out there. Leaks have repeatedly insisted that The Last of Us Part 3 is in development, while there has also been speculation about a new IP being in the works.

Speaking in a recent interview with Dextero, actor Jeffrey Pierce – who plays Tommy in the games – claimed that he hasn’t yet received a script for The Last of Us Part 3, indicating that work on the game may not be at the stage that some may have thought- if it’s even in development, that is.

“At this point it’s not something that has begun in any fashion, at least, not that I know of, and I would hate to set myself up to have expectations about what it would be and then have it be something completely different,” Pierce said.

He added, “I’m going to trust when Neil hands me a script that it’s going to be perfect because that’s the way it’s been up until now. And when that happens and I’m asked about The Last of Us Part 3, I have to say I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Of course, as Pierce himself says, if he was working on Part 3, he wouldn’t let that on in the slightest, so we can’t totally discount the possibility that that’s exactly what he’s doing right now.

Earlier in 2023, it was claimed that motion capture and audio recordings for the unannounced sequel were scheduled for this year.

Either way, in the immediate future, series fans have The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered to look forward. Due out for PS5 on January 19, it will feature a new roguelite mode called No Return, early development slices of cut levels, and more. Owners of the PS4 game will be able to upgrade to the remaster for $10.

Meanwhile, HBO’s second season of The Last of Us will air sometime in 2025.

Of course, several other trends would contribute to the rise of live service gaming over the years, namely Fortnite’s explosive popularity when the battle royale mode launched. However, after a relatively successful period, live service games (interchangeably known as games as a service) haven’t been at the same level of success over the years.

That didn’t stop Sony from acquiring Bungie last year and announcing that it would release ten live service games by 2026 (which it later updated to 12 live service games by April 2026). Even if it couldn’t have predicted the layoffs that the industry would suffer a year later, there was plenty of concern over this decision based on trends alone. Over time, we learned that Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us multiplayer project is one of them.

It wasn’t the first time it was mentioned. Naughty Dog confirmed that the multiplayer mode from the first game, wouldn’t be in the sequel but teased its eventual return. In 2022, a dataminer discovered some leftover assets in The Last of Us Part 2, which indicated potential multiplayer implementation. However, the year prior, the developer confirmed it was working on an “ambitious project” and would reveal more “when it’s ready.”

An official reveal would finally happen at the Summer Games Fest in 2022 when director Neil Druckmann officially announced the untitled multiplayer project. Very few details were provided, but it was to be set in a different part of the United States with several veterans who worked on Uncharted and The Last of Us onboard.

It was also touted as being “as big as any of our single-player games that we’ve done, and in some ways bigger. It’s got a story. The way we’re telling that story is very unique to this game. It’s got a brand new cast of characters, it takes place in another place, another part of the United States, and it’s really cool,” said Druckmann.

More details were promised for 2023, and Druckmann touted it as the “most ambitious project” the team had ever done. If reports from Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb about it being “very, very live service-y” weren’t enough, Anders Howard would join the studio as Principal Monetization Designer, having previously worked on the Battle Pass and monetization systems for Epic Games’ Fortnite. For the most part, it seemed that this multiplayer project would become the tip of the spear for Sony’s live service initiative, if not a major component.

However, at the PlayStation Showcase in May – where other multiplayer titles like Concord, Fairgame$ and Marathon – there was no sign of Naughty Dog’s project. It later confirmed that the project needed more time while reassuring that it had “other games in development, including a brand new single-player experience.” Once again, there was the assurance that additional details would be shared soon.

Behind the scenes, trouble was brewing. A report by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier revealed that the multiplayer project had run into issues following an internal review by Bungie (which provided its expertise to evaluate Sony’s upcoming live-service titles). Questions were raised about its “ability to keep players engaged for a long period”, and as a result, Naughty Dog decided to reassess its “quality and long-term viability.” The development team was scaled back, with several members moving on to other projects, but the project wasn’t cancelled.

Unfortunately, it seems any semblance of active development has ceased. A new report by Kotaku revealed that 25 contract workers had allegedly been laid off at the studio from departments ranging from art to quality assurance. Sources also claimed that while The Last of Us multiplayer project wasn’t “completely cancelled,” it’s “on ice” for now. While nothing is official, Anders Howard updated his LinkedIn profile to indicate that he has left Naughty Dog.

This lends further doubts to the project’s future. No permanent employees were reportedly affected by the layoffs, but that so many contract workers were released indicates that it isn’t a focus for Naughty Dog at this time. For now, it’s focused on its next single-player game, which is confirmed to be directed by Neil Druckmann and rumored to be The Last of Us Part 3. The studio is also working with a new San Diego studio established by PlayStation Studios Visual Arts to co-develop an “exciting new project” in a “beloved franchise.” Place your bets on what that could be, from Jak and Daxter to Uncharted.

There may be some concern over when the studio will reveal its next project and how it’s been several years since The Last of Us Part 2 launched (not counting the recent remake, Part 1). However, Druckmann has indicated that the studio will wait longer before officially unveiling its projects to avoid issues with work-life balance and production. In a way, that can be seen with the multiplayer project – it didn’t receive any gameplay, much less an official name or marketing campaign.

It doesn’t change the fact that we’ll have to wait a while to see the studio’s next project, much less play it. Or that the live service push from Sony isn’t exactly paying dividends, with three years to go and not a single title available.

Not that any of this is stopping the publisher from investing $2.13 Billion in R&D for live service titles for the fiscal year. Unless revised before March 31st, 2024, we could see changes from April 1st, 2024 onwards. In May 2022, former Sony Interactive President Jim Ryan said two yet-to-be-announced live-service titles would be released by April 1st, 2023. The Last of Us project and the long-rumored Twisted Metal reboot may have been those two games.

Ryan is retiring from his position by March 2024. Considering there are live-service titles in the works at Jetpack Interactive, Guerrilla Games (namely its Horizon co-op game), PlayStation London and more, there may be more layoffs if things don’t go according to plan. It’s also possible that Ryan’s replacement cancels a few projects because they aren’t worth the continued investment.

For the foreseeable future, Sony will continue delivering its specialty: High-budget, triple-A single-player titles based on its best-known IPs. The PlayStation 5 will continue to sell millions and set new records for the company. We’ll likely forget that there’s anything wrong behind the scenes or that some of its plans (like PlayStation VR2, which has fallen by the wayside since launching this year) aren’t panning out.

However, it feels like the walls are closing in on Sony’s live-service games initiative when it never really got off the ground. Some studios like Naughty Dog may continue as normal, but for the hundreds of developers toiling away on other projects, the future seems tenuous.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Regardless, Druckmann continues to tease. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about The Last of Us HBO series, he stated he’s also “working on another game.” When asked about the third game in the series, he smiled and responded, “As far as the next game at Naughty Dog, I can’t say anything. My comms director over there will slaughter me.”

The fact that he emphasized “next game”, as if clarifying that he wasn’t talking about the next title in The Last of Us series, says a lot. Or perhaps nothing at all. Regardless, Naughty Dog is also working on a standalone multiplayer title in the series, though it needs more time before its reveal. Rumors claim that the project is being re-evaluated and the team scaled back. As always, stay tuned for any updates.