As the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us continues to break viewing records, demand for the PlayStation video games is rising. Interest is up 733% after the season finale.
The Last of Us debuted on January 15th, 2023, as the highest-rated pilot episode ever. Since then, viewership has continued to rise. Last week’s penultimate episode on March 5th of the season drew 8.1 million viewers. This is an increase of 74% over the series debut.
The Last of Us Series is Driving Video Game Sales
A research study by King Casino Bonus shows that the HBO adaptation is making people dive into the source material. The Last of Us has already seen an increase in sales since the show began airing.
The Last of Us Part I for the PlayStation 5 saw an increase in sales of 238% a week after the series premiere. On PlayStation 4, The Last of Us: Remastered saw a bigger increase in sales at 322%.
With the season one finale for The Last of Us ending on a cliffhanger and a second season already renewed, interest in The Last of Us Part II is expected to follow. While filming is not currently underway, it is expected to begin later this year.
What Are People Searching for Following the Season Finale?
One of the highest Google searches about The Last of Us is about the upcoming second season. At its peak, “The Last of Us season 2” saw a search increase of 3233%.
Additionally, there was an increase in searches for “who plays Ellie in The Last of Us video game.” Ashley Johnson, who voices Ellie in the PlayStation series, has a cameo in the season finale episode.
Fans of the show were also looking for answers following the ending to the season finale. “The Last of US game ending explained” and “how did The Last of Us video game end” also saw an increase in search volume.
Analyzing the Results
“After any season finale, there’s typically an uptick in interest around a second series, as fans are sad to see their favorite show head on hiatus,” a spokesperson for the study says. “However, ‘The Last of Us’ has easily one of the highest increases in searches we’ve seen in a while – and it’s cool to see that this includes the video game.”
“The show has almost reached Game of Thrones level popularity amongst its fans after just one season, and we can’t wait to see how many more new players the series can accumulate between now and its second series – which hopefully won’t be too far away!”
What to Expect in Season Two of The Last of Us
While details for the second season of the HBO show aren’t available, it’s expected to follow the story for the second game. The Last of Us Part II occurs five years after the first video game. Joel and Ellie’s relationship has become strained. A new character, Abby, is introduced as well. Abby is a soldier that becomes entangled in a conflict between her militia and a religious cult.
Regarding the future of the series, Neil Druckmann, creator of The Last of Us video game, says he thinks there is more story to tell. Craig Mazin, co-creator of the TV series, is also confident in the future of the series. Still, he wants to stay faithful to the source material.
“We have no plans to tell any stories beyond adapting the games,” he says. “We won’t run into the same issue as Game of Thrones since Part II doesn’t end on a cliffhanger. I don’t have any interest in a spinning-plates-go-on-forever show. When it becomes a perpetual motion machine, it just can’t help but get kind of … stupid. Endings mean everything to me.”
