The future of the Last of Us franchise is certainly safe and secure, since Naughty Dog announced today that The Last of Us Part 2 crossed 10 million copies sold earlier this year.
Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann, who also served as co-creative director on The Last of Us Part 2, took to the stage of Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest to announce the impressive milestone. Druckmann also suggested that the success has allowed the studio to take on more projects than ever.
"And that kind of support, that kind of success, we're so grateful to our fans. It has allowed us to grow as a studio and now we can take on multiple projects, more than we've ever had at the same time," said Druckmann.
Of course, we've already known about some of these projects and many were even spoken of today. Ahead of the Summer Game Fest presentation, a remake of the original Last of Us title called The Last of Us Part I was leaked before being confirmed for a September release by Druckmann onstage. Additionally, Druckmann announced that the multiplayer mode that Naughty Dog spun off from The Last of Us Part 2 has become a standalone multiplayer game on a scale that rivals even Naughty Dog's biggest single-player titles. We should expect to hear more about Naughty Dog's multiplayer take on The Last of Us next year.
Elsewhere, Druckmann confirmed that the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie, is wrapping up shooting very soon and that Joel and Ellie's original voice actors, Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, would be appearing in the show in some capacity.
For more out of Summer Game Fest 2022, check out our roundup of the biggest news from the show.