Last of Us Creator Says Multiple Projects Are in the Works
The confirmation that multiple projects exist reframes Druckmann's earlier caution against expecting a third game, leaving the future of the franchise open across games and other media.
Key Facts
- Neil Druckmann said The Last of Us is not over and that several projects are in progress, in a Washington Post feature published on September 3, 2026.
- Druckmann said HBO's The Last of Us season 3, scheduled for 2027, concludes the story told across the two games.
- Druckmann said the first game originally kept Ellie from killing until late in the story, but her stealth-focused playable sections made her feel powerless, so the team let her kill earlier.
- For The Last of Us Part II, the team considered letting players choose whether to take supplies from strangers in Seattle but rejected the idea because it did not fit the Ellie they wanted to portray.
- In the documentary Grounded II, released with The Last of Us Part II Remastered, Druckmann said he had found a concept that might support another chapter in the series.
Reporting from 3 sources: 4Gamer.net, GameBusiness.jp, Game Spark.
Neil Druckmann, co-creator of The Last of Us and head of Naughty Dog, said his work with the series is not finished and that several projects are currently in development. The statement appeared in a Washington Post feature published on September 3, 2026, about what makes strong video game writing, in which Druckmann was one of several writers interviewed. Druckmann described the HBO series season 3, due in 2027, as the conclusion of the story told across the two games. He then said that the end of the television adaptation does not mean the end of The Last of Us, adding that he is excited to discuss the ongoing projects when the time is right. He did not give any specifics about what those projects are. The comments follow Druckmann's earlier remarks in the making-of documentary Grounded II, released with The Last of Us Part II Remastered, in which he said he had recently found a concept that could support another chapter in the story. The sources note that Naughty Dog is also developing the new action-adventure game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, though neither the September State of Play broadcasts mentioned it.
The Washington Post feature, published on September 3, 2026, gathered several prominent game writers to discuss the craft of game narrative, including differences from film and television writing and how player agency shapes story. Druckmann used the space to explain how gameplay mechanics drove narrative decisions in the first two The Last of Us games. He said the original game initially kept Ellie from killing anyone until late in the story, but her stealth-focused playable sections made her feel useless and powerless, so the team changed course and let her kill earlier, which produced new story developments.
For Part II, the team considered a more open structure in which players traversing Seattle could choose whether to take supplies from other people, with the possibility that they later learned they had killed innocent people. Druckmann said he rejected that idea because it did not fit the Ellie the team wanted to portray. The feature also included writer Halley Gross, who worked on both the game and television versions, comparing game writing to theater because players spend most of their time watching the back of a character's head and writing becomes a collaboration with the player. Druckmann's remarks about ongoing projects follow his past statement that fans should not expect a Part III, and the recent documentary Grounded II, in which he said he had found a theme that might support another chapter.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.