Naughty Dog Chief Neil Druckmann to Step Away From HBO's The Last of Us Ahead of Season 3 to Focus on Game Development

Naughty Dog caput Neil Druckmann has announced helium volition not beryllium creatively progressive successful the upcoming Season 3 of HBO's The Last of Us, opting alternatively to absorption wholly connected crippled improvement of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.

pic.twitter.com/baQee9IpHO

In a connection posted to Naughty Dog societal channels, Druckmann said the following:

"I've made the hard determination to measurement distant from my originative engagement successful The Last of Us connected HBO. With enactment completed connected Season 2 and earlier immoderate meaningful enactment starts connected Season 3, present is the close clip for maine to modulation my implicit absorption to Naughty Dog and its aboriginal projects, including penning and directing our breathtaking adjacent game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, on with my responsibilities arsenic Studio Head and Head of Creative.

"Co-creating the amusement has been a vocation highlight. It's been an grant to enactment alongside Craig Mazin to enforcement produce, direct, and constitute connected the past 2 seasons. I'm profoundly thankful for the thoughtful attack and dedication the talented formed and unit took to adapting The Last of Us Part I and the continued adaptation of The Last of Us Part II."

Additional reporting from The Ankler reveals that showrunner Craig Mazin volition beryllium heading up penning for Season 3, aft having partnered with Druckmann connected the archetypal 2 seasons.

Druckmann's instrumentality to absorption connected crippled improvement comes pursuing the uncover of Naughty Dog's adjacent project, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, astatine The Game Awards successful December of 2024. While that seems to beryllium Druckmann's main absorption for now, it's not the studio's lone project. Druckmann has confirmed that there's another, unannounced crippled successful the works internally connected which helium is "more of a shaper role" and gets to "mentor and ticker this different squad and springiness feedback and beryllium similar the enforcement successful the room."

HBO's The Last of Us adaptation, meanwhile, has been wildly successful. HBO said that Season 2 saw an "influx" of viewers that brought the bid full planetary assemblage to implicit 90 cardinal since the extremity of Season 1, though it added that debased viewership of the Season 2 finale was owed to its merchandise timing connected Memorial Day weekend.

Though Season 3 is confirmed to beryllium successful the works, it whitethorn not beryllium the end. Mazin has said that helium thinks a 4th play is essential, and the bid composer said connected a podcast precocious that determination would beryllium "at slightest 2 much seasons, nary question." It is unclear whether oregon not Druckmann would instrumentality successful a originative capableness connected a 4th season.

We gave The Last of Us Season 1 a 9/10, calling it "a stunning adaptation that should thrill newcomers and enrich those already acquainted with Joel and Ellie's travel alike." Season 2 got a somewhat little 7/10, "still good, but it's besides a sequel that struggles due to the fact that it's lone fractional of the story."

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. You tin find her posting connected BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].