The Last of Us remake isn’t inherently a bad thing, but its rumored 2022 release date seems like an odd choice in a year full of TLoU content.
Rumor has it that the unofficially confirmed remake of The Last of Us is due to launch at some point in 2022. When the news of its existence broke last year, reception was mixed: one side was skeptical of a remake for a game that came out in 2013 that’s still easily playable on modern Sony consoles, while the other side met the news with open arms, welcoming in any and all The Last of Us content.
If it’s true that the remake is launching later this year, it seems like an odd move for Sony, especially given the reaction to the leaked news. The Last of Us as a franchise is one of gaming’s most beloved, particularly the first game, but the company might be oversaturating players with new Last of Us content if the rumored roadmap for 2022 is to be believed.
The Last of Us in 2022
There’s not a lot of concrete information that’s been officially confirmed by Sony about what’s in store for The Last of Us in 2022, but plenty of industry insiders have shared information about The Last of Us remake as well as future content for The Last of Us 2. Although all industry insider information presented with anonymous sources should be taken with a grain of salt, most tell similar stories regarding the future of the franchise: a standalone Factions game is coming alongside a PS5 version of the sequel, potentially called The Last of Us Part 2: Director’s Cut, and The Last of Us remake is nearly finished. The current rumor being shared by insiders is that all three pieces of Last of Us content should be expected in the second half of 2022.
Alongside the rumored games, HBO is currently filming a TV series based off of the first Last of Us game which is scheduled to wrap filming in June which, given the typical production times for TV series, could mean that the show might air sometime toward the end of the year. If all of this is happening within the next 12 months, then the year is going to be oversaturated with Last of Us content.
Because of the ties they have to 2020’s The Last of Us 2, it makes sense for Factions and the Director’s Cut to release this year, and there’s enough separation between mediums for the HBO series to air in 2022 as well without feeling like it’s taking up too much space in the gaming world. That said, having an additional game release might be cramming too much into too little space. The release of the remake in 2022 might be happening so the game can capitalize on the hype caused by the show’s release, meaning that the two would need to release at roughly the same time. Still, if the Last of Us 2 content launches soon, then all three games would be crowding the same space.
Obviously, more Last of Us is a good thing given the series’ high bar for quality, but Sony could be oversaturating the gaming space with the franchise if all of that were to release at the same time. What’s more, public opinion on The Last of Us remake isn’t particularly high, so Sony needs to think carefully about how it wants to present the game in order to win back fans who are skeptical of its relevance. With everything currently announced to be coming out of the company in 2022, Sony has already set itself up for a packed year of releases, so having three new pieces of Last of Us content might be too much for an already stacked year of PS4 and PS5 titles.
The Last of Us remake is rumored to be in development.
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