Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann Exits HBO’s The Last Of Us, Craig Mazin Is To Spearhead The Production

When it came to video game adaptations, the skewed viewpoint of not being proper film or television was shifted came the release of HBO’s The Last of Us. It opened with record viewership back in 2023 and was instantly greenlit for another season before the second episode even aired. The show did go on to win 8 Oscars later that year.  As for the latest season, it also was met with viewer count higher than season one; 5.3 million. Additionally, HBO of course also gave the green flag for another season. According to writer Craig Mazin, he said that four seasons is essential to complete the story. “There’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season. Hopefully, we’ll earn our keep enough to come back and finish it in a fourth.” And with pre-production hardly underway for season three, there has been a new shake up behind the scenes. Via a post on X, Naughty Dog confirms that Neil Druckmann is to exit the production moving forward. Druckmann who directed The Last of Us Part II stood as an executive producer on the show since its inception. “I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in The Last of Us on HBO,” Druckmann’s statement in the letterhead reads. With work completed on season 2 and before any meaningful work starts on season 3, now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects, including writing and directing our exciting next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, along with my responsibilities as Studio Head and Head of Creative.” Now with Druckmann out of the picture, Mazin is to helm full creative control on The Last of Us for season three. In a previous interview with SciFiNow, he told the outlet that the show would be his final effort in video game adaptations. “Well, I’m not ever going to, of course, because where can you go from here? […] I would love to help produce some good adaptations of video games, just a couple in mind that I actually have.” Mazin continues: “But in terms of writing and dedicating myself on a day-by-day basis… this one’s my video game swansong.” In terms of where the series can go, Druckmann has previously confirmed that there are no plans to make a third installment for The Last of Us. So, a project beyond season four, if it were to be realized, would likely not come without Druckmann attached. You can read the full report by heading here. Are you surprised by this update for The Last of Us show?

Sony Says PlayStation Plus Pricing Will See Further Changes, But Cannot Promise Exclusive Releases Day One

The shape of PlayStation Plus continues to morph based on the trajectory of the global market. In recent time, subscribers have seen Sony Interactive Entertainment continue to readjust on the matter for the service. Just this past April, Canadian users were met with a new price adjustment that increased the cost per its subscription tiers. Additionally, there is also going to be a radical calibration for PlayStation Plus next year. In that, Sony Interactive Entertainment confirmed in January 2026 that next year will do away with featured PlayStation 4 games for its free games moving forward. But, there is no reason to discerned when high-quality games continue to be issued every month. Celebrating 15 years of PlayStation Plus, it highlighted games Diablo IV, Justant, and The King of Fighters XV earlier this month. But for the overall economy, that is not in PlayStation firm’s control when it comes to price increases. Speaking at the previous business segment meeting in June, CEO Hideaki Nishino during the fireside expressed that PlayStation Plus is still expected to increase its pricing. He elaborated that the quality output from the service is parallel to the price point. “These price increases were partly a result of increasing value we bring to the players, through the quality and diversity of content we continue to add, as well as investment in the features to improve the service further, such as player personalization and enhanced content discovery. The PlayStation Plus service offers great value for our players, and we will continue to add more value and adjust our pricing strategy in a dynamic way to maximize profitability.” Nishino added: “PlayStation Plus is highly valued by our players and continues to drive engagement. We’re already seen a trend toward the option of higher tiers within our service, as evidenced by the subscriber mix we achieved in FY2024, where approximately 38% of players are now subscribed to PlayStation Plus Premium or Extra tiers.” Elsewhere, vice president of PlayStation global services Nick Maguire told GameFile that the evolution for PlayStation Plus does not include its first-party games launching immediately on the service. “We’ve sort of stayed true to our strategy across the board, where we’re not looking to put games in day and date.” he also argues the altering of its titles organically inclines uses to explore other genres. “We’ve got 80 collections of games across the catalog. So we want to keep it fresh and bring in new games. Sometimes that means taking a few games out at the same time to keep the proposition interesting and help people find new games as well.” What is your opinion on this sentiment from PlayStation? Source: Sony, GameFile

Netflix Games To Delist Over A Dozen Games This Month Leaving Many Worried About Some Platform Exclusives

Back in 2021, it was very polarizing to see Netflix committing to integrating gaming into its streaming platform. With a soft launch in select regions around the EU, many were skeptical on how far the platform will reach. Soon enough, Netflix Games was formed and began acquiring talent. By that fall, the firm purchased Oxenfree developer Night School Studios then. As its library continued to grow, more high-profile projects released including platform exclusives. Early last year, it was reported that Atlus is even working on unique content for Netflix. However, there has been some recalibrating for Netflix Games. In the fall, Netflix officially shuttered its first-party AAA efforts – closing its veteran-ran Team Blue. Now recently, there has been reports on a number of games to exit Netflix Games. According to The Verge, there are close to two dozen titles now set to be removed on July 14th. Already, Supergiant’s Hades has been delisted. You can read the full list below: Battleship Braid, Anniversary Edition Carmen Sandiego CoComelon: Play with JJ Death’s Door Diner Out: Merge Cafe Dumb Ways to Survive Ghost Detective Hades Katana Zero Lego Legacy: Heroes Unboxed Ludo King Monument Valley Monument Valley 2 Monument Valley 3 Rainbow Six: Smol Raji: An Ancient Epic SpongeBob: Bubble Pop F.U.N. TED Tumblewords The Case of the Golden Idol The Rise of the Golden Idol Vineyard Valley The bigger concern is that Netflix was the home to a number of mobile releases exclusively. So for these to be sent away leaves bigger concerns about preservation for these titles. Speaking to The Verge, Devolver Digital is working to resolve this for its titles. “We are looking at bringing games that leave services like Poinpy, Katana Zero, and Death’s Door to mobile stores as premium titles.” Others like Monument Valley have ensured legacy support by releasing on other platforms. Although debuted as a Netflix release, Monument Valley 3 is available on PC as well as consoles since releasing this past fall. You can read the full report by heading here. Are you upset by this decision from Netflix? Source: The Verge

It Doesn’t Look Like Phil Spencer Is Retiring From Xbox Yet; Microsoft Rebuts Rumors

The recent slew of days has casted quite an ominous shadow over Xbox – especially Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. Many of the disgruntled comments towards the platform sourced from the latest spree of layoffs issued by Microsoft. Situations such as the closure of The Initiative & canceling of Perfect Dark as well as Everwild being stopped indefinitely resulting in veteran staff to exit developer Rare. Additionally, new information that sprouted from the mass firings reveals that even Forza Motorsport team Turn 10 Studios has been hit majorly. In that, the studio was reduced to supporting efforts at Playground Games for Forza Horizon – effectively closing work on the original franchise. Even the recent motion by Microsoft is the closing of Romero Games as developers for the Irish team say its funding was cut then. Amid the noise against the Xbox brand, there has been other reports that plays to the same tune. According to InsiderGaming, Tom Henderson reported that sources within Microsoft Gaming has relayed the soon retirement for Phil Spencer after the newest wave of layoffs. The problem is that Microsoft responded expressing the rumor to be entirely untrue. In an exchange on X, Henderson commented “I think I summed it up in the article just fine” when questioned how true his reporting was on Spencer’s retirement. However, Microsoft communications lead Frank Shaw went on to chime in issuing that the entire piece was nothing more than a fabrication. “So long as by ‘summed it up’ you mean ‘made it up,’” Shaw wrote. Atop of the rubble from these Xbox layoffs, there are some relieving news that did not impact other Xbox operations. Specifically, next-generation Xbox hardware has been untouched as well as Hideo Kojima’s cloud passion project ‘OD’ is to remain as well, Windows Central reports. You can read the full report by heading here. Are you for or against Spencer’s exit from Xbox?