The Last of Us has been a pillar IP for the PlayStation brand over the last decade or so, and has cemented series developer Naughty Dog as one of the marquee studios under Sony's umbrella. It's somewhat surprising, then, that there are technically only two games in the entire franchise. The original The Last of Us debuted on the PlayStation 3 in 2013, right at the end of the system's life cycle. It was then followed up by a sequel in 2020 called The Last of Us Part 2, a 2023 live action HBO TV show adaptation with the same name, and a 2022 PS5 remake dubbed The Last of Us Part 1.
So far, the future of The Last of Us franchise seems up in the air at the moment. Other than the now-canceled live service spin-off named The Last of Us Online, Naughty Dog hasn't announced any new TLOU games since the release of The Last of Us Part 2. One of the co-creators of the franchise, Neil Druckmann, has expressed interest in telling more stories in the Last of Us universe, but it's unclear whether he is referring to a full-on sequel to TLOU Part 2 or a spin-off of some kind. Even if a hypothetical The Last of Us Part 3 is in development, it will take a long time to release, with the gap between releases mirroring that of The Elder Scrolls 6 and its beloved predecessor.
The Last of Us Part 3 and The Elder Scrolls 6 Are Both in a Tricky Position
The Elder Scrolls 6 Was Announced Years Ago and is Still Nowhere to Be Found
Like Naughty Dog's critically acclaimed duology, The Elder Scrolls is a household name in the world of video games. Created and developed by Microsoft subsidiary Bethesda Game Studios, this legendary role-playing series has seen several installments over the years, from the long-running MMO The Elder Scrolls Online to the genre-defying open world game The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. Despite being a cash cow for both Microsoft and Bethesda, the franchise has been somewhat inactive in recent times. The last mainline entry in the series was The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, which was originally released in 2011 for PS3, Xbox 360, and Windows PCs.
More than half a decade later, Bethesda Game Studios announced a follow-up to the wildly successful Skyrim during E3 2018. This sequel, which was tentatively titled The Elder Scrolls 6, was unveiled with a brief CGI trailer that contained next-to-no gameplay or information about its setting. Although 6 years have passed since its reveal at the now-defunct convention, Bethesda has shared little else about The Elder Scrolls 6, besides confirming that it had entered full development in March 2024.
There's a 10+ Year Gap Between Numbered Entries in the TLOU and Elder Scrolls Franchises
The Last of Us and The Elder Scrolls haven't received new mainline entries for quite some time, and that's primarily because their developers have been busy on other projects. Bethesda Game Studios has released six different games in the years after Skyrim's release and is currently working on post-launch content for Starfield. Naughty Dog, on the other hand, has been busy working on its upcoming sci-fi action game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, since it shipped TLOU Part 2 in 2020.
In the years since Skyrim's release, BGS has shipped Fallout Shelter, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, The Elder Scrolls: Blades, Starfield, and The Elder Scrolls: Castles.
When Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet was announced during The Game Awards 2024, Naughty Dog didn't share a launch window for the game, which gave the feeling that it might be released by 2026 at the earliest. If Intergalactic does actually take that long to hit store shelves, then it's entirely possible that Naughty Dog fans may have to wait until 2032 (an additional 6 years after Intergalactic's debut) to get their hands on a new game from the company, such as The Last of Us Part 3. That is a whopping 12-year gap between TLOU Part 2 and the next game in the franchise. This, however, is nothing compared to The Elder Scrolls series; although Skyrim is already a 13-year-old game, The Elder Scrolls 6 still isn't close to being finished. No matter how one looks at it, the amount of time that players must wait to experience mainline entries in The Last of Us and The Elder Scrolls franchises is very long.
The Last of Us
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 94 /100 Critics Rec: 99%
- Released
- June 14, 2013
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Naughty Dog
- Publisher(s)
- Sony
- Engine
- Proprietary (overall), Havok (physics)
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Expansions
- The Last of Us: Left Behind
WHERE TO PLAY
Experience the emotional storytelling and unforgettable characters in The Last of Us, winner of over 200 Game of the Year awards. In a ravaged civilization, where infected and hardened survivors run rampant, Joel, a weary protagonist, is hired to smuggle 14-year-old Ellie out of a military quarantine zone. However, what starts as a small job soon transforms into a brutal cross-country journey. Includes the complete The Last of Us single-player story and celebrated prequel chapter, Left Behind, which explores the events that changed the lives of Ellie and her best friend Riley forever.
