The Last Of Us Part 3 release date is a long way off, we’re afraid

As much as it saddens me to say it, The Last of Us Part III is almost certainly not releasing during the current console generation.

The Last of Us fans have been enjoying a steady stream of content in recent years. The latter end of 2022 brought us the remade The Last of Us Part I, whilst 2023 saw HBO’s TV adaptation premiere and The Last of Us Part II Remastered announced. That then dropped just last month, so we’ve hardly been starved of treats. That being said, it’s been a good while since we received a wholly new release. The Last of Us Part II, of course, dropped during 2020 and we have no idea, outside of remakes and remasters, what Naughty Dog have been cooking up since.

Take a look at our review of The Last of Us Part II Remastered below.

While I’m grateful for both the remade Part I and remastered Part II, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t desperate for Naughty Dog to announce something new. Ideally, I’d like that to be The Last of Us Part III but honestly, I think we’re all up for anything at this stage. It’s believed that two projects are currently in the works at Naughty Dog, although neither has been announced. As per Neil Druckmann’s Instagram bio, it’s known that he’s directing and writing one of these projects.

Assumedly, this will be The Last of Us Part III with the other game thought to be a new IP. While Naughty Dog continues to keep a closed lid on both projects, Druckmann opened up about Part III during the recent Grounded II: The Making of The Last of Us Part II documentary. “I've been thinking about it, [asking] 'Is there a concept there?' And for years now, I haven't been able to find that concept,” he began.

“But recently, that's changed, and I don't have a story, but I do have that concept that to me is as exciting as [Part] 1, as exciting as [Part] 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." With the interview clip filmed within the last few months, it’s clear that The Last of Us Part III is only in its conceptual phase.

With Sony warning that the PS5 is in the ‘latter stages’ of its life cycle, the PS6 will assumedly land in around three years time. Could The Last of Us Part III land before then? Given how early it is in pre-production and the major changes Naughty Dog has undertaken to stamp out crunch, it doesn’t appear so. Could Naughty Dog be planning for a major PS6 launch title though? That feels far more likely. Only time will tell.