It feels like a lifetime ago. Honestly, looking back at the gaming landscape of the early 2010s, things were... different. We were at the tail end of the PlayStation 3 era. People were starting to whisper about the "next gen," and then Naughty Dog dropped a bomb that changed how we talk about digital storytelling forever.
If you're asking when did The Last of Us come out, the short answer is June 14, 2013.
But it's never just one date, is it? Not with a franchise this big. Since that Friday in June, we’ve seen remasters, a massive sequel, a controversial "Part I" remake, and a hit HBO show that brought Joel and Ellie into the living rooms of people who’ve never even touched a controller. It’s a bit of a maze.
The Original Launch: June 14, 2013
Naughty Dog was already the "golden child" of Sony because of the Uncharted series. But this was something else. It was darker. Grittier. I remember the marketing leading up to it—those cryptic trailers showing a world reclaimed by nature. The hype was deafening.
When the game finally hit shelves on June 14, it wasn't just a hit; it was a cultural shift. It pushed the PS3 to its absolute limit. You could hear those fans spinning like jet engines trying to render the moss on the walls of a ruined Pittsburgh. Interestingly, the game was originally slated for a May release, but it got pushed back a few weeks for extra polish. Best decision they ever made.
The Remastered Jump to PS4
Consoles move fast. By the time 2014 rolled around, the PlayStation 4 was the new kid on the block, and Sony realized they had a massive library of PS3 owners who were upgrading and wanted to take Joel and Ellie with them.
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On July 29, 2014, The Last of Us Remastered launched.
It wasn't a ground-up rebuild. It was basically a "best version" of the original. We got 60 frames per second, which, if you’ve played it, makes a world of difference in those panicked combat encounters with Clickers. It also bundled in the Left Behind DLC, which had previously dropped on Valentine's Day in 2014. Talk about a depressing Valentine's gift, right?
The Sequel That Split the Internet
We waited years. Years! Then, on June 19, 2020—right in the middle of a global pandemic that made the game's fungus-ridden world feel uncomfortably relevant—The Last of Us Part II arrived on PS4.
The release was messy, not because of the game itself, but because of massive plot leaks that happened weeks prior. It created this weird, toxic atmosphere before anyone had even played it. But when it did drop, it broke records. It was ambitious, brutal, and significantly longer than the first game. Whether you loved the direction Naughty Dog took with the story or hated it, you couldn't ignore it. It swept the Game Awards that year.
Part I: The PS5 Remake and the PC Port
This is where things get a little confusing for casual fans. In 2022, Naughty Dog decided to bring the original game up to the technical standards of the sequel.
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They called it The Last of Us Part I.
- PS5 Release: September 2, 2022.
- PC Release: March 28, 2023.
The PC launch was, frankly, a disaster at first. It was buggy. It crashed. It made high-end graphics cards sweat for no reason. It took several months of heavy patching for it to become the definitive way to play on a rig. But if you want to know when did The Last of Us come out on PC, that March date is the one for your calendar.
Why the Timing Mattered
Context is everything in gaming. In 2013, we were tired of "brown and gray" shooters. We wanted characters. Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley (the directors) bet big on the idea that players would care more about a surrogate father-daughter relationship than they would about high-score boards.
They were right.
The game’s release coincided with a "Prestige TV" era in gaming. It proved that a game could be as emotionally resonant as The Road or Children of Men. If it had come out three years earlier, the tech wouldn't have been ready for the facial animations. Three years later, and the "zombie" fatigue might have been too high.
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Common Misconceptions About the Dates
A lot of people think the HBO show came first or that the game was an adaptation of a book. Nope. Totally original. The HBO series premiered on January 15, 2023, almost a decade after the original game.
Another weird one? Some folks remember a multiplayer-only game coming out recently. That was supposed to happen. Naughty Dog worked on a standalone "Factions" project for years but officially canceled it in late 2023. So, as of now, the release timeline ends with the Part II Remastered version that hit PS5 on January 19, 2024.
How to Experience it Now
If you are just getting into this world, don't just grab the first disc you see at a thrift store.
- If you have a PS5: Buy The Last of Us Part I. It’s the remake. It looks stunning and has the most modern controls.
- If you are on PC: Get the Steam version of Part I, but make sure your drivers are updated. It's much better now than it was at launch.
- If you are on a budget: The PS4 Remastered version is often under $10 and still looks great.
The franchise has a weird way of staying relevant. Whether it's a new season of the show or a rumor of Part III, the dates of these releases continue to be the pillars of modern gaming history.
To keep your collection or knowledge up to date, always check the version number on the digital store. There's a massive difference between the 2013 original and the 2022 remake, even if the story is identical. If you're planning a marathon, start with Part I (the remake), move to the Left Behind chapter, and then dive into Part II Remastered. That sequence gives you the smoothest technical transition and the full emotional weight of the series without the jarring jump in graphics quality.
Actionable Next Steps
- Check Your Library: If you own the PS4 version of Part II, you can often upgrade to the Remastered PS5 version for a small fee ($10 in most regions) rather than buying it full price.
- Verify PC Specs: Before purchasing the PC version, ensure you have at least 16GB of RAM and an SSD; this game is notorious for struggling on traditional hard drives.
- Watch the Documentary: Search for "Grounded: Making The Last of Us" on YouTube. It was released shortly after the 2013 launch and gives incredible insight into why the game was delayed and how it almost fell apart during development.