The Last Of Us 3 Not Ruled Out, But Director Hasn't Decided What's Next For Naughty Dog

The Last of Us Part II is launching next week, June 19, and you can read our review now. Its director is already thinking about what is next for developer Naughty Dog, but as it stands, Neil Druckmann hasn't yet decided on another sequel like The Last of Us Part III or something new entirely.

In an extensive GQ piece detailing the last two years of development on The Last of Us sequel, Druckmann explains that near the end of a project it's commonplace for the mind to start wondering about what comes next. As it stands, that's really between a third Last of Us entry or a new IP, something which the studio hasn't done since The Last of Us launched in 2013.

"As you start wrapping things up, creatively there are fewer and fewer responsibilities and my mind can’t help but think about the next thing," Druckmann says. "So, yeah, the next thing could be a Part III, the next thing could be some new IP."

The piece is quick to point out that no director at Naughty Dog has done more than three games, with The Last of Us Part II being Druckmann's third after directing the original and Uncharted 4 unexpectedly. Although Druckmann is thinking about what's next, it will be just as key to watch if he'll be helming it too.

The Last of Us Part II is Naughty Dog's third original game on the PS4, with Uncharted 4 and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy launching in 2016 and 2017 respectively. In our final The Last of Us Part II preview, we called its combat cold and ruthless, saying "it's presented in a way for you to feel the pain of every cut, blow and shot you give and receive, and the result is far more intense than the first game."