The rumor of a The Last of Us 3 just got a big boost. Vinit Agarwal, former game director of The Last of Us Online at the house of Naughty Dogconfirmed he directed a mysterious single-player “future game” before leaving the studio.
Combined with Neil Druckmann’s multiple innuendoes on the future of the license, this testimony raises a haunting question for fans: The Last of Us Part III is it already under construction, somewhere in the Santa Monica offices?
The Last of Us 3 in preparation: what does Vinit Agarwal’s leak really reveal?
Agarwal spent seven years on The Last of Us Onlinethe famous Factions 2 multiplayer. In the Lance E. Lee Podcasthe explains that the game was “almost 80% complete” when Naughty Dog decided to cancel it, a decision he says he learned of only 24 hours before the public announcement.
According to him, the studio chose to cut this game service to concentrate its resources on the next title led by Neil Druckmannamely Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophetand on another internal project. Still in this podcast, Agarwal drops the sentence that makes the community tremble: “They made me the game director of one of their future games. I stayed on it for a year, then I decided to take the risk of leaving.”
This “future game” is not Intergalacticwhich he describes as “Neil’s game”. The insider Daniel Richtmanncited by Wccftech, speaks precisely of an unannounced solo game, directed by Agarwal then canceled in 2025. Hence the big question: was it a proto of The Last of Us 3a spin-off in the same universe or a new license sacrificed along the way?
What does this testimony change for Naughty Dog and The Last of Us players?
On the official communication side, Neil Druckman has been blowing hot and cold for two years. In the documentary Grounded IIat the beginning of 2024, he confides having finally found a concept for “a new chapter” of The Last of Us. Then, in 2025, he explains that one should “not bet” on a Part IIIwhile admitting that the door remains open, as recalled Geek Journal And Numerama.
On March 30, 2026, he posted old sketches from 2003 on Instagram showing a man and a young girl in a destroyed America, speaking of “the few stops left on the road ahead.” Most French media, Numerama has Jeux.comsee it as a transparent nod to The Last of Us 3. Agarwal’s account adds a key piece to the puzzle: Naughty Dog has successfully run several large single-player games in parallel, some going as far as dedicated game director.
For players, the message is clear. The studio preferred to kill a multiplayer project at 80% rather than diluting its teams, which confirms the priority given to narrative blockbusters like Intergalactic and the future of the license The Last of Us. Even canceled, Agarwal’s “future game” proves that the universe never left the work table.
The Last of Us 3: when could it be released and on which consoles?
According to Naughty Dog Magazinethree major solo projects structure the studio today: Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophetin development since 2020 for a targeted release in 2027 on PS5 and PC, a “new game” led by Shaun Escayg since 2022, and a probable The Last of Us Part IIIalready associated with new motion capture sessions with Ashley Johnson and Halley Gross in a Sony documentary miniseries.
By crossing this roadmap with the historical rhythm of the studio, Geek Journal And Naughty Dog Magazine believe that The Last of Us 3 could only reasonably arrive by 2029, straddling the end of life of the PS5 and start of the next generation. Vinit Agarwal’s testimony does not constitute confirmation, but it shows a Naughty Dog entirely refocused on ambitious single-player games. Add to that the repeated winks of Neil Druckmanand it becomes difficult to imagine a future where The Last of Us Part III does not exist, even if the wait still promises to be very long.