Why are we talking about this when Naughty Dog have said it might not happen?
In November of last year, well-known leaker ViewerAnon, who has a solid track record, posted that The Last of Us Part 3 was in production. This news gave fans of the game a lot of hope, but with the recent hype around the new, well-received HBO show, creator Neil Druckmann stated that they’d only go ahead with Part 3 if they had a story that was good enough.
The Last of us Part 3 is a Playstation 5 release with “Playstation 6 in mind”
How can we go against an official statement?
We’ve been hearing rumblings of a third entry being in the works in November and the fact that the budget depends on the success of the show, but these rumors remained unsubstantiated. The show’s success and high viewership would suggest more people are willing to play the game. We’ve seen this happen before, when Witcher 3 sales spiked after the Netflix series came out. As such, a successful show would have an important role to play in terms of development for The Last of Us part 3; because it’s proof of continued and/or developed interest.
Druckmann has also previously stated that a story line was written. Now, our source at Sony (who previously broke the first leak of the PS5 Slim to us) has doubled down and revealed to us that it is indeed in the works. At least, according to Sony. Internally, Sony has the title slated as “in progress” with Naughty Dog as the developer with the game is categorised as a Playstation 5 release with “Playstation 6 in mind”.
The Last of us Part 3 for the Playstation 6
Before you bring out your torches and pitchforks over us simply mentioning the PS6, a Playstation 6 release might be due to one simple reason: a triple-A title can take up to four years to develop while a console generation lasts approximately five years. If Sony has it marked down as a game with “Playstation 6 in mind” it might indicate that the game will be released at the end of the Playstation 5 life cycle with an improved version set for its follow-up console; similar to how the original was released, but this time prepared for the next generation console.
Game development cycles are much longer now, and that can’t be ignored. As Jason Schreier puts it, “Fun fact: Video game production cycles have gotten so long that if a big-budget game studio started working on a brand new project today, it would likely be for the PlayStation 6.”
According to Paul Tassi, Forbes, a 2026 release is very plausible:
“The Last of Us was out in June 2013. The Last of Us Part 2 was out in June 2020, but that was with Uncharted 4 and Uncharted Lost Legacy being made in between that. So sure, a potential 2026 release date for The Last of Us Part 3 lines up pretty well, and would align with the apparent plans for the HBO show as well. That’s what I have to believe is happening here.”
Paul Tassi, Will Naughty Dog’s Next Game Be ‘The Last Of Us Part 3’?
Given earlier rumours, the confirmed existence of a story line, the immense success of the TV-show, and our realiable leaker’s statement – everything seems to point towards the obvious: The Last of Us Part 3 is in the works.
We’ve reached out to Sony and Naughty Dog for a comment. This article was co-written by Muhammad Marsad. You can follow the story on our Twitter account. Art by Brandon Meier.
Note: This post was edited to better explain our reason for adding the comment pertaining to the budget of the game.
