With the upcoming PC release of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, the franchise is all set to have a new wave of fans. Director Neil Druckmann, however, isn’t sure that a third game in the franchise will ever get made. In an interview with Etalk, Druckmann spoke about how he works on every project like it might be his last one.
“Every game I make, every project I work on, I treat it like it could be my last,” he said. “So I just pour everything into it, I leave nothing on the table.”
“When we did the first Last of Us game, that’s how I treated it,” he continued. “I wasn’t sure I could ever get to make a sequel, so it had to have a definitive ending. Likewise, when I worked on Uncharted 4, same thing. When I worked on Last of Us 2, I was like I don’t know if I’ll ever get to do this again. It had this definitive ending.”
Druckmann goes on to expand on his working process, where he likes to focus on individual projects, regardless if the project is a new IP altogether, or a sequel to an older game.
“That is the ending we’re working towards,” he said. “For there to be another one, another thing, another project, so many stars have to align, I can’t guarantee it. So right now, my focus is on this season, and hopefully if HBO renews us, next season. And then I’m working on a new game called [Intergalactic].”
“One project at a time. Got to make it the best that it can be. And then if I get the chance to do it again, I’ll focus on the next project.”
The statement came as an answer to the interviewer asking Druckmann about him having previously said that fans of The Last of Us shouldn’t bet on there being any of the franchise down the line.
“Don’t bet on there being more of Last of Us,” said the interviewer, quoting Druckmann. “This could be it.”
Druckmann had previously spoken about how he doesn’t like to plan out sequels in advance. Speaking with Sony Santa Monica’s Cory Barlog, Druckmann said that he never saw games as franchises. He echoed similar statements in this conversation about treating every project as if it is going to be the only one in the franchise.
“I think you’re jinxing yourself if you’re starting to think about the sequel when you’re working on the first game,” explained Druckmann. “So when I was making The Last of Us 2, yeah, sure. Every once in a while, an idea pops into your head of where it might go if we get the chance to do another one. But I just approach it as, ‘What if I never get to do another one?’…I’m not saving some idea for the future. If there’s a cool idea, I’m doing my best to get it into here.”
The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is on its way to PC on April 3. Check out the required PC specs here, and also check out some of the features and options that will be available in the PC release here. And in the meantime, stay tuned for the second season of HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us, which will premiere on April 13.