Gaming

This is why The Last of Us is exclusive to PlayStation

This is why The Last of Us is exclusive to PlayStation
The Last of Us Part 1 PC Trailer
Automoto TV - Gaming / VideoElephant

The Last of Us is one of the best video games ever made, even if sequel Part II split fans completely down the middle.

Both games are action adventures with survival horror elements that focus on two main characters as they travel and battle humans and infected across a post-apocalyptic America.

The first focuses on Joel and Ellie and their developing relationship and the second is of a grown-up Ellie and Abby.

They were created by developer Naughty Dog, which is owned by PlayStation, also responsible for iconic franchises Crash Bandicoot, Uncharted and Jak & Daxter.

But why is Naughty Dog owned by PlayStation and only releases game for PlayStation and eventually PC?

A co-founder of the studio has revealed all in a LinkedIn post.

A screenshot of Joel and Ellie from a trailer for The Last of Us Part 1The Last of Us is considered one of the best games ever made / Naughty Dog

Andrew Gavin said: "The answer is simple: budgets were skyrocketing.

"When we started Naughty Dog in the 1980s, game development expenses were manageable. We bootstrapped everything, pouring profits from one game into the next.

"By 2004, the cost of AAA games like Jak 3 had soared to $45-50 million - and they have been rising ever since.

"Selling to Sony wasn't just about securing a financial future for Naughty Dog. It was about giving the studio the resources to keep making the best games possible, without being crushed by the weight of skyrocketing costs and the paralysing fear that one slip would ruin it all.

"Looking back, it was the right call."

Naughty Dog revealed its latest brand new IP at The Game Awards 2024, showing a cinematic trailer for Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, the studio's first new IP since The Last of Us in 2013 and its first brand new game since The Last of Us: Part II in 2020.

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