The Last of Us

This article is about the video game. For the television adaptation, see The Last of Us (TV series). For other uses, see The Last of Us (disambiguation).
"TLoU" redirects here. For the name, see Tlou.

The Last of Us
Artwork of Ellie, a teenage girl with brown hair. She has a backpack, with a sniper rifle strapped to her side, and is standing behind Joel, a man in his 40s who has brown hair and beard, and a revolver in his left hand. They are standing in a flooded, overgrown city street, turning to face the camera. The text "THE LAST OF US" is positioned to the left.
Developer(s)Naughty Dog
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s)
Designer(s)Jacob Minkoff
Programmer(s)
  • Travis McIntosh
  • Jason Gregory
Artist(s)
  • Erick Pangilinan
  • Nate Wells
Writer(s)Neil Druckmann
Composer(s)Gustavo Santaolalla
SeriesThe Last of Us
Platform(s)
ReleasePlayStation 3
  • WW: June 14, 2013
PlayStation 4
  • NA: July 29, 2014
  • PAL: July 30, 2014
  • UK: August 1, 2014
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

The Last of Us is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Players control Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a post-apocalyptic United States. The Last of Us is played from a third-person perspective. Players use firearms and improvised weapons and can use stealth to defend against hostile humans and cannibalistic creatures infected by a mutated fungus. In the online multiplayer mode, up to eight players engage in cooperative and competitive gameplay.

Development of The Last of Us began in 2009, soon after the release of Naughty Dog's previous game, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. For the first time in the company's history, Naughty Dog split into two teams; while one team developed Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, the other half developed The Last of Us. The relationship between Joel and Ellie became the focus, with all other elements developed around it. Actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson portrayed Joel and Ellie, respectively, through voice and motion capture, and assisted creative director Neil Druckmann with the development of the characters and story. The original score was composed and performed by Gustavo Santaolalla.

Following its announcement in December 2011, The Last of Us was widely anticipated. It was released for the PlayStation 3 in June 2013 to acclaim for its narrative, gameplay, visuals, sound design, score, characterization, and portrayal of female characters. The Last of Us became one of the best-selling video games, selling over 1.3 million units in its first week and 17 million by April 2018. The game won year-end accolades, including Game of the Year awards from several gaming publications, critics, and awards ceremonies. It has been ranked as one of the greatest video games ever made.

Naughty Dog released several downloadable content additions; The Last of Us: Left Behind adds a single-player campaign following Ellie and her best friend, Riley. A remastered version, The Last of Us Remastered, was released for the PlayStation 4 in July 2014.[a] A remake, The Last of Us Part I, was released in September 2022 for the PlayStation 5 and in March 2023 for Windows. A sequel, The Last of Us Part II, was released in 2020. Other The Last of Us media includes a comic book in 2013, a live show in 2014, a television adaptation by HBO in 2023, a tabletop game by Themeborne in 2024, and an upcoming tabletop game by CMON.
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