Richard Bailey at The Koalition writes: At PlayStation Experience 2016 earlier this month, Naughty Dog blew the roof off of the Anaheim Convention Center when they finally revealed the long-awaited sequel to The Last of Us at the end of the keynote presentation. The Last of Us Part II is still a long way from release, but the trailer embedded above gave us more than enough information to hold everyone over until a full-fledged gameplay trailer drops.
Shortly after the worldwide reveal, Neil Druckmann, Ashley Johnson, and Troy Baker took the stage to talk a little more openly about this upcoming sequel. From this 35-minute conversation, we learned several things including the following:
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 developers discuss the huge success of Space Marine 2 and its effect on the series as a whole.
The latest game in BioWare’s fantasy role-playing series went through ten years of development turmoil
In early November, on the eve of the crucial holiday shopping season, staffers at the video-game studio BioWare were feeling optimistic. After an excruciating development cycle, they had finally released their latest game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and the early reception was largely positive. The role-playing game was topping sales charts on Steam, and solid, if not spectacular, reviews were rolling in.
Its easy they called the die hard fans people in their nerd caves who will buy anything and then went woke to reach modern audiences....insulting the nerds in their caves along the way showing utter contempt for their fan base. very hapy it failed and any company who insults their fan base and treat their customers with contempt and insults, in future, i also hope fail.
It’s disappointing but not surprising to see what's happening with Dragon Age: The Veilguard and the broader situation at BioWare. The layoffs are tragic — no one wants to see talented developers lose their jobs. But when studios repeatedly create games that alienate their own fanbase, outcomes like this become unfortunately predictable.
There’s a pattern we’re seeing far too often: beloved franchises are revived, only to be reshaped into something almost unrecognizable. Changes are made that no one asked for, often at the expense of what originally made these games special. Then, when long-time fans express concern or lose interest, they’re told, “This game might not be for you.” But when those same fans heed that advice and don’t buy the game, suddenly they're labeled as toxic, sexist, bigoted, or worse.
Let’s be clear: the overwhelming majority of gamers have no issue with diversity, LGBTQ+ representation, or strong female leads. In fact, some of the most iconic characters in gaming — like Aloy, Ellie, or FemShep — are proof that inclusivity and excellent storytelling can and do go hand in hand. The issue arises when diversity feels performative, forced, or disconnected from the narrative — when characters or themes are inserted not to serve the story, but to satisfy a corporate DEI checklist. Audiences can tell the difference.
When studios chase approval from a vocal minority that often doesn’t even buy games — while simultaneously dismissing loyal fans who actually do — they risk not just the success of individual titles, but the health of their entire studio. Telling your core customers “don’t buy it if you don’t like it” is not a viable business strategy. Because guess what? Many of us won’t. And when the game fails commercially, blaming those very fans for not supporting it is both unfair and self-defeating.
Gamers aren’t asking for less diversity or less progress. We’re asking for better writing, thoughtful character development, and a respect for the franchises we’ve supported for decades. When you give people great games that speak to them — whether they’re old fans or new players — they will show up. But if you keep making games for people who don’t play them, don’t be surprised when those who do stop showing up
I thought the writing and character development were fine. Sometimes things just dont resonate with people.
Sector sat down with Glen Schofield—creator of Dead Space and The Callisto Protocol—during the Game Developers Session (GDS) in Prague to discuss the evolution of the game industry, the current challenges of AAA development, and why it's become so hard to get original ideas off the ground in today’s risk-averse environment.
It’s easy enough to say that, but why? It feels weird to me when developers say this but common sense would tell you everything about the idea itself should work.
The idea of the concept seems like a winner at whichever angle you look at it so why would publishers not greenlight it?
… it’s almost as if the majority of publishers are massively incompetent at their jobs. But there’s no surprise to anyone there.
Very interesting take Rich. I was against them returning to their story initially but the trailer gives me hope. I just really hope it doesn't compromise the values these two characters had set in stone in the original game.
It ain't easy to make a sequel after such a successful game, but I'm sure they put a lot of thought into it at Naughty Dog as well as Sony, especially since TLOU will now most likely replace Uncharted as the most important Playstation exclusive, if it hasn't already. But there's no formula as to how to make a sequel to such an amazing game. Just give them time and be patient.
So your first 'plot' idea is Joel is killed by the FF and ellie goes on a rampage to avenge him then commits suicide.
:O
Second idea Joel gets infected and dies 'This approach would be poetic' :/ and then ellie goes after the infected.
Seems more like cliché despair theme than hatred IMO and tbh I'm sure ND can find much more interesting story.
Also what you seem to miss like many, is that it's not just Joel that found somehow paternal love for Ellie. It's completely shared and ellie found in Joel the only family that counts for her and she is actually the one who needed the most and basically did everything she could for Joel to remain with her.
To give my two cent, we know it's the continuation of the first game and mainly the story of Joel and Ellie but.... I think it's about a given there will be new characters bad and good and that will give a lot more possibilities for the storyline to develop in surprising ways. Basically, it's all about human feelings and relationships set in a nightmarish world.
If Ellie is to seek revenge on someone, she'll need a Training Montage for that. I bet Naughty Dog could make an awesome one.
Not sure why anyone would doubt naughty dog. If the story was not worth telling I am sure they have sense not to make the game, they have written and created more successful video games than Richard Bailey after all.