The Last of Ushas 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 originalThe Last of Usdebuted 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 calledThe Last of Us Part 2, a 2023 live action HBO TV show adaptation with the same name, and a 2022 PS5 remake dubbedThe Last of Us Part 1.
So far, the future ofThe Last of Usfranchise seems up in the air at the moment. Other than the now-canceled live service spin-off namedThe Last of Us Online, Naughty Dog hasn’t announced any newTLOUgames since the release ofThe Last of Us Part 2. One of the co-creators of the franchise, Neil Druckmann, has expressed interest intelling more stories in theLast of Usuniverse, but it’s unclear whether he is referring to a full-on sequel toTLOU Part 2or a spin-off of some kind. Even if a hypotheticalThe Last of Us Part 3is in development, it will take a long time to release, with the gap between releases mirroring that ofThe Elder Scrolls 6and 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 Scrollsis 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 MMOThe Elder Scrolls Onlineto thegenre-defying open world gameThe 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 wasThe 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 successfulSkyrimduring E3 2018. This sequel, which was tentatively titledThe 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 aboutThe Elder Scrolls 6, besides confirming that it hadentered full development in March 2024.
There’s a 10+ Year Gap Between Numbered Entries in the TLOU and Elder Scrolls Franchises
The Last of UsandThe Elder Scrollshaven’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 afterSkyrim’s release and is currently working onpost-launch content forStarfield. Naughty Dog, on the other hand, has been busy working on its upcoming sci-fi action game,Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, since it shippedTLOU Part 2in 2020.
In the years sinceSkyrim’s release, BGS has shippedFallout Shelter,Fallout 4,Fallout 76,The Elder Scrolls: Blades,Starfield, andThe Elder Scrolls: Castles.
WhenIntergalactic: The Heretic Prophetwas 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. IfIntergalacticdoes 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 afterIntergalactic’s debut) to get their hands on a new game from the company, such asThe Last of Us Part 3. That is a whopping 12-year gap betweenTLOU Part 2and the next game in the franchise. This, however, is nothing compared toThe Elder Scrollsseries; althoughSkyrimis already a 13-year-old game,The Elder Scrolls 6still 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 inThe Last of UsandThe Elder Scrollsfranchises is very long.
The Last of Us
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.
