3 min read
Sony’s acclaimed The Last of Us franchise may be gearing up for a major return as The Last of Us Part 3 is rumored to reintroduce a fan-favorite feature that was absent in the franchise’s second installment, igniting fresh excitement among players years after Part II’s release.
While The Last of Us Part III has not been officially announced by developer Naughty Dog, recent reporting suggests that the upcoming sequel could revive a core gameplay element fans loved in the original The Last of Us, a detail that many players felt was missing in Part II.
The first Last of Us game for PS3 featured a multiplayer mode called Factions. While it wasn’t the most popular multiplayer experience out there, it definitely had its share of dedicated fans. So, when the sequel launched without a multiplayer option, many of those fans were left feeling disappointed. There was talk of a standalone multiplayer experience in the works, but unfortunately, that project ended up getting canceled.
Adding flame to the fire is the job listing from Naughty Dog that has de-facto confirmed that the studio is indeed working on a “multi-platform” game, likely still in the pre-production phase. This probably means it’s being developed for both PlayStation and PC, rather than for Xbox or Nintendo. What’s really intriguing is the bonus skills mentioned in the listing for a Senior Sound Designer, which includes “experience with multiplayer games.” It’s pretty clear that they wouldn’t be looking for this expertise unless the game is expected to have multiplayer features, meaning there could still be a shot for the TLoU franchise fans.
Franchise director Neil Druckmann has historically been reluctant to commit to a third game, once saying that The Last of Us Part II provided a “fine ending point” while acknowledging there might be room for another chapter. In his own words:
“… It’s always like, we would love another Last of Us, but if you guys are passionate about something else, we’ll support this other thing. Very privileged position to be in. I never take that for granted. I’ve been thinking about, ‘Is there a concept there?’ And for now years, I haven’t been able to find that concept. But recently that’s changed. I don’t have a story, but I do have that concept, that, to me, is as exciting as I, as exciting as II, is its own thing, yet has this through-line for all three. So it does feel like there’s probably one more chapter to this story.”
The show’s HBO adaptation continues to keep the franchise in the spotlight, with Season 3 in development. Some reports suggest diverging storylines as the TV series adapts more of the game universe beyond Part II.
The original The Last of Us set a high bar for cinematic storytelling and survival gameplay. Released in 2013 for PlayStation 3 and later remastered for newer platforms, it combined emotional narrative with tightly tuned mechanics that gave players meaningful agency over exploration and combat.
Naughty Dog has not publicly confirmed development or a release date for a third installment, and suggests that if it does arrive, it may not launch for several years, possibly after the studio’s currently confirmed title Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, expected around mid-2027.
The Last of Us remains one of gaming’s most watched franchises for potential continuation.
