The Last of Us Part 3 could be Naughty Dog's next game

By Heidi Nicholas,

The Last of Us Part II has been in development for years and isn't even out yet, but Naughty Dog vice president Neil Druckmann "can't help but think about the next thing", and says this could be a new IP — or even The Last of Us Part III.

Speaking to GQ, Druckmann says, "As you start wrapping things up, creatively there are fewer and fewer responsibilities and my mind can't help but think about the next thing... So, yeah, the next thing could be a Part III, the next thing could be some new IP."

The Last of Us Part II has been in development for around six years, and has been plagued by delays, leaks, and difficulties around working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. It could be that Naughty Dog decides to take a break from The Last of Us and work on something different, much as CD Projekt Red has left the Witcher universe for now to work on Cyberpunk 2077. Then again, The Last of Us is one of PlayStation's most beloved and iconic exclusives, and the sequel is if anything already raising more excitement than the first game, so the studio may decide to plunge straight into the next.

There's now under two weeks to go until The Last of Us Part II releases on June 19th, and it'll likely be some time before we hear what Naughty Dog is working on next, although Druckmann's comments suggest he's already thinking about its next project. What would you like to see? Part III or new IP? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by Heidi Nicholas

Hey, I'm Heidi! I've just finished studying a Masters in English Literature, but I've been obsessed with gaming since long before then. I began on the PS2 with Spyro, before graduating to the Xbox 360 and disappearing into Skyrim. I'm now a loyal RPG fan, but I still like to explore other genres — when I'm not playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey, or being lured back into Red Dead Redemption 2 or The Witcher 3!