The Last of Us Part II Almost Did Not Happen; Story Was Not “Special” Enough: Naughty Dog

With The Last of Us Part II being the biggest reveal at PlayStation Experience 2016 (PSX), it’s but obvious there’s more to it than just a great looking trailer.

According to Neil Druckmann, Creative Director at Naughty Dog, the studio almost gave up on making a sequel to the 2013 classic. Reason being, it was felt that the initial attempts at story weren’t “special” enough.

(Also see: The Last of Us Part II Revealed at PlayStation Experience 2016)

“Like many of you, we have a deep love for the world of The Last of Us and its characters, and while a sequel may have seemed like a foregone conclusion, that wasn’t the case. We knew that it needed to be a story worth telling and, perhaps more importantly, a story worthy of Joel and Ellie,” he wrote on the official PlayStation blog. “After spending years on different ideas (and almost giving up), we finally uncovered a story that felt special—a story that evolved into an epic journey.”

(Also see: Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite Announced at PlayStation Experience 2016)

Though Druckmann states that the game is long way off, Naughty Dog expects to reveal more information in the months to come. Considering how the first game ended, a sequel seems contrived. More so since The Last of Us Part II stars the same two protagonists of the first game — Joel and Ellie, the former of which was implied as dead according to some fans of the first game.