“Neil Druckmann on Embracing the Moment: Why He’s Not Planning Future Sequels for The Last of Us”

Naughty Dog president and director of The Last of Us, Neil Druckmann, asserts that he “never” contemplates sequels for games he is currently working on, as he lacks that “level of confidence.”

As highlighted by IGN, Druckmann and Cory Barlog from Sony Santa Monica both spoke at the recent D.I.C.E. Summit, where the topic of how their respective teams approach character development across multiple games arose. For Druckmann, this is clearly not part of his forward planning, as he “never” considers “multiple games” simultaneously.

Arguing that “the game in front of us is so consuming,” Druckmann feels that “you’re tempting fate if you start thinking about the sequel while creating the first game.” Instead, he adopts the mindset, “‘what if I never get to do another one?'” He elaborates: “I’m not holding back ideas for the future. If there’s an intriguing concept, I’m putting in my utmost effort to include it here.”

However, that does not imply he can prevent all sequel concepts from entering his mind. He acknowledges that while working on The Last of Us Part 2, “occasionally an idea strikes me about where it might lead if we were granted the chance for another installment.” Regrettably for those eager for The Last of Us 3, he did not expand on what those ideas could potentially entail, although he had previously hinted that “there’s probably one more chapter to this story.”

Conversely, Barlog likens his personal approach to that of the meme featuring Charlie’s Pepe Silvia conspiracy board from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, explaining how he strives to “connect and plan with all these elements.” As for Druckmann, he believes this “requires a level of confidence I simply don’t possess.”

But without any pre-set plans, what does it look like when Druckmann actually does begin work on a sequel? He describes that he inquires about what unresolved matters remain and where the characters might venture next, humorously adding: “If the answer seems to be that they can’t go anywhere, I think to myself, ‘I guess we’ll just kill them off.'” Fans of The Last of Us are already well aware of that possibility.

To clarify, he admits he’s “half joking,” yet reinforces the significance of the team crafting “a new solution” that doesn’t rehash previous content. He states: “And if we lack a fresh approach, then we should question whether this is the right character? Is this the right game for us to undertake? Or is it time to explore something entirely new?”

At present, Naughty Dog is engaged in developing something entirely new in the form of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, a science fiction adventure that appears to be a