The Last of Us is one of the most successful video game series exclusive to the PlayStation console lineup since the first title was released for the PS3 in 2013. Since then, there has been only one new release in the series, and others have been remastered, first for the original title and then for the sequel, which is releasing for the PlayStation 5 on January 19.
Fans eagerly await a new release to be announced to continue the series’ lore. This has been happening now more than ever since The Last of Us TV series on HBO was released and made waves. As per a leak extrapolated from a Naughty Dog employee’s LinkedIn, fans are speculating that the wait for the third game in the series might be longer than they expected. This is because the studio is reportedly working on its next venture based on an entirely new IP.
Is The Last of Us 3 Not happening Anytime Soon? Reports Suggest That Naughty Dog is Focusing on New IP
The leak originated on the popular subreddit r/GamingLeaksAndRumors and a photo that was a snapshot of an illustrator working with the studio. The illustrator is Colin Lorimer, whose LinkedIn profile can be found here.
If one looks at the individual’s About section, it talks about the projects Lorimer has been associated with, suggesting that his profile could be a viable source of information. The individual’s About section mentions that Lorimer is a writer, an illustrator, and a story artist. He has worked on projects on the HBO series based on the game series and The Last of Us Factions, a title that has since been canceled.
It also mentions that the individual is working to help the studio developer with their latest IP. While there isn’t much information to conclude anything concrete about the series’ future or predict when the next game will see the light of day, a new IP is probably keeping the studio busy.
That is because of the work required to get everything together from scratch while ensuring that the studio’s pedigree that has been maintained stays intact and the IP doesn’t flop. Fans were disappointed when The Last of Us Factions was canceled, and for a good reason: they wanted to experience the game’s world in a multiplayer setting, something that would have been fun. There was a silver lining to the announcement.
The new IP will probably be a single-player one, but nothing else is known about it so far. Also, this can be taken as confirmation that Naughty Dog is working on a new IP. Previously, when Factions was delayed and a notice regarding it was put in, the studio was vague in its language. The studio claimed the following:
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.
A “brand new singleplayer” game doesn’t necessarily mean a new IP; it could have been a title from any of the existing universes like Uncharted or The Last of Us, mainly because there is a lot of scope for a reboot with the former title after we saw Nathan Drake flying off into the sunset. This is shown when his life as a family man becomes the focus at the end of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
Now, if one were to guess the new IP’s release, it could perhaps be released in 2025, given the studio’s extra time and resources after the cancellation of Factions and the fact that development has already been confirmed.
Now, after remastering a title that doesn’t show its age and only offers a roguelike mode in the form of new content, Naughty Dog may once again be in line for some criticism from fans. Regardless, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered releases on January 19 exclusively for the PlayStation 5.
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