Naughty Dog head Neil Druckmann has announced he will not be creatively involved in the upcoming Season 3 of HBO’s The Last of Us, opting instead to focus entirely on game development of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) July 2, 2025
In a statement posted to Naughty Dog social channels, Druckmann said the following:
“I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in The Last of Us on HBO. With work completed on Season 2 and before any meaningful work starts on Season 3, now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects, including writing and directing our exciting next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, along with my responsibilities as Studio Head and Head of Creative.
“Co-creating the show has been a career highlight. It’s been an honor to work alongside Craig Mazin to executive produce, direct, and write on the last two seasons. I’m deeply thankful for the thoughtful approach and dedication the talented cast and crew took to adapting The Last of Us Part I and the continued adaptation of The Last of Us Part II.”
Additional reporting from The Ankler reveals that showrunner Craig Mazin will be heading up writing for Season 3, after having partnered with Druckmann on the first two seasons.
Druckmann’s return to focus on game development comes following the reveal of Naughty Dog’s next project, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, at The Game Awards in December of 2024. While that seems to be Druckmann’s main focus for now, it’s not the studio’s only project. Druckmann has confirmed that there’s another, unannounced game in the works internally on which he is “more of a producer role” and gets to “mentor and watch this other team and give feedback and be like the executive in the room.”
HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation, meanwhile, has been wildly successful. HBO said that Season 2 saw an “influx” of viewers that brought the series total global audience to over 90 million since the end of Season 1, though it added that low viewership of the Season 2 finale was due to its release timing on Memorial Day weekend.
Though Season 3 is confirmed to be in the works, it may not be the end. Mazin has said that he thinks a fourth season is essential, and the series composer said on a podcast recently that there would be “at least two more seasons, no question.” It is unclear whether or not Druckmann would return in a creative capacity on a fourth season.
We gave The Last of Us Season 1 a 9/10, calling it “a stunning adaptation that should thrill newcomers and enrich those already familiar with Joel and Ellie’s journey alike.” Season 2 got a slightly lower 7/10, “still good, but it’s also a sequel that struggles because it’s only half of the story.”
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].
