The Last of Us Day: Remembering the History of the Series

Today, fans of The Last of Us are celebrating a special date. Every year on September 26, they return to one of the most iconic post-apocalyptic universes in gaming.

Over the past 13 years, The Last of Us has grown from a single PlayStation 3 game into a major franchise with a sequel, remakes, and an HBO series. In honor of The Last of Us Day, we look back at how it all began and what lies ahead for the series.

What is The Last of Us Day?

The date was chosen for a reason. In the world of The Last of Us, September 26 is the day when the outbreak of an infection caused by a mutated Cordyceps fungus reached a critical scale and changed the world forever.

Naughty Dog began marking the date together with the community back in 2013, shortly after the release of the first game. The event was originally called Outbreak Day. The developers used the occasion to release special content, artwork, themed merchandise, and other activities for fans.

In 2020, the event was renamed The Last of Us Day, but the tradition itself remained unchanged. September 26 continues to be dedicated to the games, characters, and community of The Last of Us.

What is The Last of Us about?

The world of The Last of Us has been devastated by a catastrophic pandemic caused by a Cordyceps fungal infection. Much of civilization has collapsed, cities have been abandoned, and the survivors live in quarantine zones and small settlements.

At the center of the first story are Joel and Ellie. Joel is tasked with escorting the girl across the ruined United States to the Fireflies. What begins as a simple mission gradually turns into a long journey, while the relationship between the two characters becomes the heart of the story.

The sequel moves the story several years forward and significantly expands the universe, showing the conflict from different perspectives.

At the same time, The Last of Us has never been just a story about the infected. The series has always focused on people, their relationships, their losses, and the choices they are willing to make for those they care about.

The Last of Us games

The first The Last of Us was released in June 2013 for PlayStation 3 and marked the beginning of the series.

In February 2014, Naughty Dog released the story expansion The Last of Us: Left Behind, focused on Ellie's past and her relationship with Riley. Later that same year, The Last of Us Remastered arrived on PlayStation 4 as an enhanced version of the original game.

The next full chapter, The Last of Us Part II, was released on June 19, 2020, for PlayStation 4. The story takes place several years after the events of the original and primarily follows Ellie and Abby.

In 2022, Naughty Dog returned to the first game. The Last of Us Part I was a full remake of the original, built using the studio's more modern technology. The PlayStation 5 version was released on September 2, 2022, followed later by a PC release. Part I also includes a fully remade version of Left Behind. In January 2024, The Last of Us Part II Remastered was released for PlayStation 5. Alongside technical improvements, it introduced previously cut levels, additional behind-the-scenes content, and the roguelike mode No Return.

In April 2025, the remastered second game arrived on PC, and later that summer it received the free Chronological Experience mode, allowing players to experience the story's events in chronological order.

Also in 2025, The Last of Us Complete was released for PlayStation 5, combining Part I and Part II Remastered in one collection.

The Last of Us TV series

In 2023, the universe also made its way to television. HBO released The Last of Us, starring Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie.

The first season largely adapted the original game and Left Behind, while also expanding the stories of several characters.

The second season premiered in spring 2025 and consisted of seven episodes. It began adapting the events of The Last of Us Part II. Even before its premiere, HBO officially renewed the series for a third season.

What's next?

When it comes to the TV series, the situation is fairly clear: a third season of The Last of Us is officially in HBO's plans. The future of the games is more intriguing.

Naughty Dog spent a long time working on the standalone multiplayer project The Last of Us Online, but development was discontinued in December 2023. The studio explained that supporting such a game for years would have required dedicating nearly all of its resources to the project and could have prevented it from continuing to create future single-player games.

The Last of Us Part III has not been officially announced. Naughty Dog has explored ideas for a possible continuation after Part II, but the studio's next major project is an entirely new science-fiction game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.

At the same time, it is still too early to say that the story of The Last of Us is over. In 2025, Neil Druckmann said there were other, still unannounced projects and ideas surrounding the franchise. What exactly he meant has not yet been officially revealed.

For now, The Last of Us Day is the perfect reason to return to a beloved universe: replay Joel and Ellie's story, rewatch the series, or discover The Last of Us for the first time. And, of course, do it with your favorite pizza from Ninja Pizza.