The Last of Us Part II wins Game of the Year

The Last of Us Part II has won Game of the Year at The Game Awards. Christopher Nolan, director of The Dark Knight trilogy, presented the award to Neil Druckmann. The nominees for the award were Doom Eternal, Ghost of Tsushima, Hades, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

The Last of Us Part II was praised by critics upon release for its hard-hitting story, though it wasn’t as beloved by a vocal group of consumers. Naughty Dog’s highly-anticipated sequel had an influx of negative user reviews, leading to changes from the aggregate platform.

Neil Druckmann thanked Sony, his colleagues at Naughty Dog, and the families of the employees.

“More than anything, I know I speak for the whole team when I say this, we’d like to thank our friends and family that stood by us and supported us throughout making this game. You not only inspire us to not only make better, more meaningful games, but to improve how we make games.”

The Last of Us Part II also took home 6 other awards. This includes Best Narrative, Best Game Direction, Best Performance (Laura Bailey as Abby), Best Audio Design, Innovation in Accessibility, and Best Action/Adventure Game. The original game, despite its intense critical reception, did not win Game of the Year in 2013. Rockstar Games won the award for Grand Theft Auto V.

It did win the award at other outlets and ceremonies but not at The Game Awards.

Neil Druckmann’s success with The Last of Us Part II led to a promotion at Naughty Dog. The game director is now co-president of Naughty Dog, the highest position at the PlayStation studio.

Druckmann is now hard at work at adapting The Last of Us into a live-action series on HBO. He’s working alongside Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin to bring the show to life in 2022. Naughty Dog’s other tentpole franchise, Uncharted, is also coming to life. The series will hit the big screen Summer 2021 with Tom Holland as Nathan Drake.