2013's The Last of Us is an all-time great. It was also a financial success. The narrative-driven action-adventure game sold more than 7 million units on the PS3 and 10 million more units on the PS4 with its remaster. Its sequel, The Last of Us: Part II, was divisive and didn't sell as well. Yet, it still landed a spot among the PS4's best-selling games with more than 10 million units shipped.
According to recent estimates, The Last of Us franchise has sold more than 30 million units in less than a decade. This is a huge number for a two-game series. With The Last of Us Part 1 in development, we can expect to add at least 10 million units more to this number a year or two from now if not more.
TLDR: The Last of Us is a goldmine that has outsold entire video game franchises in just two games.
So, can you really blame gamers for thinking that Naughty Dog only wants to cash in on the franchise with a so-called glorified remake of the original title?
While this a common sentiment among gaming communities, animator Robert Morrison claims that this isn't the case. According to the current Sony Bend employee, who worked at PlayStation's Visual Arts Studio on The Last of Us Part 1, Naughty Dog is treating the project with utmost priority. Specifically, Morrison claims that it is the "most meticulously built and crafted project that I have ever seen or been a part of in my entire career."