The Last of Us’ television show has officially been delivered (two episodes, now) and its popularity and profile are spreading like wildfire. In a record-short time, The Last of Us has become one of the most popular shows on HBO, with the second episode drawing in a staggering 5.7 million viewers as it debuted.
That marks a week-on-week episodic increase of 2%, which is reportedly the largest tangible second-week growth for any HBO drama series in the history of the network. There are nine episodes in the first season, and fans are already predicting that the ride ahead will be equal parts epic and emotional.
As the television show enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity, so too did sales volumes of the games, with The Last of Us Part I on PS5 seeing growth in sales of more than 230% in the UK alone.
The Pulling Power Continues
First released in 2013, The Last of Us was, for a time, the most highly awarded game in history. It’s widely considered to be one of the best post-apocalyptic adventures ever created, and its world-class acting and production quality have given rise to sequels, remakes, and now, a television show starring Pedro Pascal.
Since the show debuted, the game series has seen an enormous upsurge in sales. For The Last of Us Part I on PS5, a growth of 238% was recorded in the UK, and The Last of Us Remastered saw a growth of around 322%. It’s worth bearing in mind that, apparently, those figures have been secured based on physical sales, and given the fact that digital appears to be king these days, the actual figures are likely so much higher.
Recently, it was suggested that Naughty Dog’s next game is, somewhat expectedly, The Last of Us Part III, but there’s also a multiplayer-only title in the works. There are expectations that the latter project will be an extraction shooter similar to Escape From Tarkov in nature, but very little is known about the game.
That’s partly because Naughty Dog has adopted an all-new principle of refusing to reveal games too early, or to give them launch dates too prematurely.
There’s a bright future in store for The Last of Us, and if the show continues along the path it’s already on, it’ll continue to shatter records with ease.
For more Insider Gaming news, check out our coverage of the new Fortnite Dead Space bundle.
