‘The Last of Us’ digital version will be playable as it downloads

By Michael Rougeau May 17, 2013

The digital download version of Naughty Dog’s upcoming The Last of Us will be playable once the download hits 50-percent completion, the studio told Game Informer. The digital version of The Last of Us will be released June 14, the same day as the boxed retail disc.

Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 4 console will be able to play games almost as soon as they beginning downloading, the company revealed when it announced the new system. But The Last of Us is for Sony’s existing PS3 console, which up to now has required digital games downloads, usually lengthy, to be completed before the games can be booted up. Often these downloads can’t even be performed in the background, but that changes with the PS4.

The Last of Us is a post-apocalypse game in which a man must escort a 14-year-old girl in a dangerous world filled with infected monsters and hostile survivors. Check out Digital Trends’ recent preview for more on Naughty Dog’s first non-Uncharted game since 2005’s Jak X: Combat Racing.

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Michael Rougeau

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Mike Rougeau is a journalist and writer who lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and two dogs. He specializes in video…

Gaming

Naughty Dog confirms The Last of Us Part II Remastered following leak

Key art for The Last of Us Part II Remastered

Naughty Dog officially announced and released the first trailer for a remaster of 2020's critically acclaimed The Last of Us Part II. The developer was forced to announce The Last of Us Remastered Part II Remastered a bit early after it leaked Friday afternoon. Thankfully, the wait for the remaster won't be long, as it's coming to the PlayStation 5 in two months.

The Last of Us Part II Remastered - Announce Trailer | PS5 Games

Gaming

PS5’s new Digital Edition brings console gaming one step closer to PC

A PS5 consxole is opened up, showing its removable hard drive.

When Sony revealed updated models for the PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition, one specific accessory for the latter caught my eye. That would be the Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive for PS5, which players can purchase separately and then attach to the Digital Edition console if they decide they do want to own physical media after all. Coming right in the middle of a console generation where multiple versions of each Sony and Microsoft console exist, it hews a lot closer to a console future that draws from the PC experience.

By that, I mean game consoles are becoming more modular and customizable. Something like the Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive points toward a future where you can swap console parts in and out as you would with a gaming PC. This not only gives companies a chance to be more digitally focused while still supporting physical media but potentially makes it easier to expand a console’s memory or power without doing a full-on mid-gen console refresh. It’s unknown if this is the real future for console gaming, but the new PS5 models at least lay a bit of groundwork.
A more modular future
While “slim” versions of consoles have been an industry trend for a while, the significance of mid-gen console refreshes has grown over the past decade. The PS4 improved with the PS4 Slim and then the PS4 Pro, while Microsoft flooded the Xbox One market with the One S, One S All-Digital Edition, and One X updated version of the console. And while the long-rumored Nintendo Switch Pro never came to fruition, the Switch still saw hardware variations with the Nintendo Switch Lite and Nintendo Switch OLED model. It's also already possible to tinker with your PS5 a bit and expand its storage capabilities, something that typically felt relegated to modded consoles in previous generations.
This more frequent and incremental hardware release cadence reflects other parts of the tech industry and allows these companies to test new ideas for hardware going forward. The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition played a role in paving the way for the digital-only Xbox Series S. As such, it wouldn't surprise me if Sony is experimenting with a new hardware approach with these updated PS5 models, even if they aren’t massive technical overhauls.

Gaming

Naughty Dog devs suffer layoffs, reportedly impacting Last of Us multiplayer spinoff

Ellie looking concerned.

A new report revealed that Naughty Dog has ended several contracts it had with developers early, laying off around 25 developers. This had a negative impact on The Last of Us multiplayer game but, more importantly, is chillingly just the latest batch of layoffs in a rough couple of months for the video game industry.
These contracted developers were informed that their contracts were ending prematurely at the end of October and that they'd get no severance afterward, according to the report at Kotaku. Reportedly, most of these layoffs at Naughty Dog, PlayStation's darling studio that employs over 400 developers, come from the quality assurance, art, and production teams. According to Kotaku, Naughty Dog asked its developers to keep quiet about it. That didn't happen, though, with developers telling Kotaku not only about the layoffs but that the multiplayer The Last of Us game "while not completely canceled, is basically on ice at this point."
Concept art for Naughty Dog's Last of Us multiplayer title. Naughty Dog
These layoffs are unfortunate but sadly not uncommon for the game industry. Throughout the last few weeks, studios like Ubisoft, Creative Assembly, Ascendant Studios, and Epic Games have all laid off people. Epic, in particular, cut a whopping 16% of its workforce despite the fact that Fortnite is one of the most popular video games. Then, there are studios like Saints Row's Volition, support studio Puny Human, and Boomerang X's Dang are closing entirely.
Although 2023 has been a year full of fantastic games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Street Fighter 6, and Baldur's Gate 3, it's unfortunate that it has been so rough for the developers who actually make the games in this gigantic industry. It's clear something needs to change.