A prequel for The Last of Us was almost made “by a different game studio”

A prequel game set before the events of The Last of Us was almost made, with creator Neil Druckmann revealing early plans to have the project developed by a different studio external to Naughty Dog.

The Last of Us is arguably the biggest video game franchise of the 2010s, with the new HBO adaptation of the first game breaking viewership records while the first two games are both critically and commercially acclaimed in their own right.

As a result, fans are always wanting to know when more The Last of Us content will be released as well as what this expansion of the franchise could look like. In the final episode of The Last of Us show, the series delved deeper into the origins of Ellie, including flashbacks of her mother Anna, played by original Ellie voice actress Ashely Johnson.

While this exploration wasn’t included in the game, The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann revealed during Kinda Funny’s The Last of Us Spoilercast that a prequel game was actually pitched around and was almost created. Not by Naughty Dog, however, but by a completely different gaming studio.

Neil Druckmann reveals early plans for a Last of Us prequel

“There was a much more full version of the story that went back in time. That was going to be made into a video game, not by Naughty Dog by a different game studio. Greg Miller introduced me to that studio and had talked to them for quite a while to do this thing and then it just kind of fell apart and didn’t quite work out.”

Druckmann didn’t reveal which studio he had been talking to about the prequel idea. However, it’s interesting to wonder if this game would have followed a similar style and design to The Last of Us Part 1 & 2 or if it would have been a very different game altogether.

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