Naughty Dog May Not Be Handling The Last of Us on PC

It seems as though the PC port of The Last of Us Part 1 won't be handled by Naughty Dog. The news comes immediately after HBO's The Last of Us finished its first season with a bang.

The Last of Us Part 1 remains one of gaming's greatest-ever stories. With The Last of Us Part 1 seeing a huge amount of sales after the success of the HBO adaptation, it's great to see more people getting to experience Joel and Ellie's story even if it's in another medium. Hopefully the upcoming PC port is a success, as it could mean that The Last of Us Part 2 may also come to PC in the future. However, it does seem as though Sony is committed to porting its recent catalog of PlayStation exclusives to PC regardless.

The news that Naughty Dog may not be handling the PC port of The Last of Us Part 1 was first noticed by PCGamesN, which pointed out that the PC requirements announcement image had been edited to add the logo of Iron Galaxy. While Iron Galaxy has released its own original titles in the past, the developer is best known for its string of PC ports over the past few years. While this isn't confirmation that Naughty Dog isn't involved at all, it definitely suggests that Iron Galaxy has been hired to do a lot of the work.

The news that Iron Galaxy will be involved in the PC port of The Last of Us Part 1 has received a mixed early reception. The developer was tasked with the PC port of Batman: Arkham Knight, which to this day is known for its terrible PC port, with poor performance and a 30 FPS lock among its biggest issues. Iron Galaxy has even worked with Naughty Dog before, to bring Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection to PC. This port was received as mediocre at best, with some major issues with mouse control dampening the experience. However, it's not all doom and gloom. Iron Galaxy also developed the PC ports of Spyro Reignited Trilogy and Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, which were both pretty smooth experiences, so there's hope for The Last of Us Part 1 on PC yet.

Gamers don't have long to find out how the PC port of The Last of Us Part 1 will play with its release in just over two weeks. Despite concerns over the chosen developer handling the port, there have been signs that Naughty Dog is committed to making sure the game is great upon release. February's delay of The Last of Us Part 1's PC port indicated that Naughty Dog wasn't willing to force the game out if it wasn't ready, and it doesn't seem like another delay is forthcoming. A successful launch of The Last of Us Part 1 on PC could be enormous for the franchise. It could serve a similar purpose to the TV show, which has brought in a whole new audience who never played the original Last of Us. There are plenty of gamers who have never owned a Sony console, and this is the developer's opportunity to win them over.

The Last of Us Part 1 is available now on PS5, and a PC port will be released on March 28.