The Last of Us

The Last of Us is an action-adventure video game series and media franchise created by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The series is set in a post-apocalyptic United States ravaged by cannibalistic humans infected by a mutated fungus in the genus Cordyceps. It follows several survivors, including Joel, a smuggler who lost his daughter during the outbreak; Ellie, a young girl who is immune to the infection; and Abby, a soldier who becomes involved in a conflict between her militia and a religious cult. The games use a third-person perspective in which the player fights against hostile humans and cannibalistic creatures with firearms, improvised weapons, and stealth. Game director Bruce Straley and creative director Neil Druckmann led development of the first game, The Last of Us, which was released for the PlayStation 3 in June 2013 and PlayStation 4 in July 2014. A downloadable content expansion, The Last of Us: Left Behind, was released in February 2014 and follows Ellie and her best friend Riley. Druckmann continued to lead development of the sequel, The Last of Us Part II, which was released for the PlayStation 4 in June 2020, PlayStation 5 in January 2024, and Windows in April 2025. A remake of the first game, titled The Last of Us Part I, was released for the PlayStation 5 in September 2022 and Windows in March 2023. The series has received critical acclaim and has won numerous awards, including several Game of the Year recognitions; the first game has been ranked as one of the greatest video games ever made, and the second won more than 320 Game of the Year awards. Games in the series are among the best-selling PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 games. The franchise has sold over 37 million games as of January 2023. Strong sales and support of the series led to the franchise's expansion into other media, including a comic book in 2013, live show in 2014, television adaptation for HBO and haunted house for Universal Studios in 2023, and tabletop game by Themeborne in 2024.