The Last of Us Part II sells 4 million copies in three days, setting new record

By Don Reisinger Published April 25, 2023

Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II has set a new launch sales record with 4 million units sold in its first three days on store shelves.

The Last of Us Part II’s record makes it the “fastest-selling first-party PlayStation 4 exclusive ever,” Sony senior vice president of PlayStation marketing Eric Lempel said in a blog post on Friday. Naughty Dog, which developed the game, is a wholly owned Sony development house.

“We are so immensely grateful to the millions of fans around the world that have played The Last of Us Part II and shared their experiences with us over the last week,” Naughty Dog vice president Neil Druckmann said in a statement. “We set out to tell a new kind of story, one that deals with difficult themes and would challenge you in unexpected ways. Hearing how the experience has resonated with so many of you and witnessing the type of thoughtful discussions it has sparked has been so incredible.”

The Last of Us Part II took the top spot from Marvel’s Spider-Man, which snagged 3.3 million unit sales during its first three days of availability in 2018.

The Last of Us Part II, which launched on the PlayStation 4 last Friday, was one of the most anticipated launches of the year, thanks to its wildly successful debut on the PlayStation 3 in 2013. The second release also earned rave reviews from critics, including Digital Trends Gaming Section Editor Lisa Marie Segarra. Segarra called the game “a dark masterpiece” and said it “will go down as a classic game that people talk about for years to come, not unlike the first iteration.” She gave the game five out of five stars.

Friday, Druckmann told the Kinda Funny Gamecast in an interview that Naughty Dog has “no plans” to release The Last of Us Part II DLC. Naughty Dog released a popular expansion to the game called The Last of Us: Left Behind in 2014. Druckmann did not, however, reference rumors that a multiplayer version of The Last of Us may be in the works for an eventual launch on the PlayStation 5.

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Don Reisinger is a freelance technology, video game, and entertainment journalist. He has been writing about the world of…

Gaming

New art for The Last of Us multiplayer spinoff teases its seaside setting

The second piece of The Last of Us multiplayer concept art shows two players walking toward a beached yacht.

Naughty Dog reaffirmed that it will share more details about The Last of Us' multiplayer game this year and released new concept art for it. The image gives a better sense of its setting, with a massive boat serving as a key set piece.
The new image shows two players as they approach a giant beached yacht. Rusted vehicles, palm trees, and a flooded street surround them, suggesting that this is in some sort of seaside town. Earlier concept art for the game seemed to indicate a San Francisco setting, though it's unclear if the new image is from the same location.
While Naughty Dog hasn't commented on exactly what exactly this concept art is supposed to show, it seems like this is one of the maps where players will be able to fight the Infected and potentially other players. It also looks reminiscent of some of the final areas of The Last of Us Part II.
This reassurance of its development and concept art came as part of a blog post on Naughty Dog's website today meant to kick off the series' tenth anniversary. "With a team led by Vinit Agarwal, Joe Pettinati, and Anthony Newman, the project is shaping up to be a fresh, new experience from our studio, but one rooted in Naughty Dog’s passion for delivering incredible stories, characters, and gameplay," Neil Druckmann writes in the blog post.
This multiplayer game has been a long time coming, as it was originally meant to release alongside The Last of Us Part II but was separated to become a standalone release. We haven't heard that much about it since then, only getting some concept art at Summer Game Fest 2022. As this new concept art looks like it's from a very different location than the previous art, it seems like this multiplayer game could have multiple maps.
While it still doesn't have a release window, we should hear more about it by the end of 2023.

Gaming

From The Last of Us to Immortality, these are 2022’s most innovative games

A video game character standing in front of text that says 2022 Most Innovative Games.

What makes the video game industry so exciting is that it’s still relatively young. Developers are still routinely discovering new ways to turn the medium on its head, redefining the idea of what a game is by bucking against trends. Though major productions like God of War Ragnarok are no doubt impressive, the most groundbreaking titles are often the less obvious ones.

That was the case in 2022, which saw developers entirely deconstructing some fundamentals about games. In some cases, that was expressed through new approaches to gameplay, creating experiences that are unlike anything I’ve ever seen from the medium. Others were even more high-level, challenging us to think about who certain projects are for. From a massive remake project to the tiniest action game, these were some of 2022’s most innovative games.
The Last of Us Part I

Gaming

The Last of Us Part 1: best skill upgrades

Ellie draws back a bow in a The Last of Us Part 1 screenshot.

As a remake, The Last of Us Part 1 remains incredibly faithful to how the original played and the mechanics you had at your disposal. While some speculated that features or mechanics from The Last of Us Part 2 might find their way being retroactively included, that turned out not to be the case. For those who loved the original just as it was, this is great news to learn that nothing mechanically is different from the game you loved, but plenty of people who played the sequel might have some trouble adjusting.

While skills did exist in The Last of Us Part 2, they were mostly different skills split into different trees. The Last of Us Part 1 remains a bit more straightforward with its upgrades, but that also makes each decision you make on which to take or upgrade more important. Whether it's your first or fifth time joining Joel and Ellie on this journey across an infected America, you will want to make sure Joel is as well equipped as possible with the best skills you can get.
How skills work