Amid this year’s COVID-19 pandemic, Naughty Dog has announced a name change for its annual celebrations of everything The Last Of Us. The event is taking place this Saturday (September 26, 2020) seven years since the game’s fictional cordyceps outbreak started.
The celebration event came to be known as Outbreak Day, but with all things considered this past year, the developer has decided to rebrand the name. According to a post on social media, Naughty Dog has renamed the event The Last Of Us Day.
In a statement, Naughty Dog said that September 26 marks an “opportunity to recognize and celebrate the incredible passion of The Last of Us community.”
“While the name and date are rooted in the fiction of the game, September 26 means so much more than lore. It’s about showing our appreciation for our fans.”
#TheLastofUsDay pic.twitter.com/dEycyibZw4
— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) September 22, 2020
The Last Of Us Day not only “acknowledges the world around us, but also reflects the growth of the community as we welcome millions of new players with the release of The Last of Us Part II.”
By the end of the statement, the developers revealed that it had “a lot of exciting things planned and we can’t wait to share them with you in just a few days!”
In the spirit of the celebrations this Saturday, and for something a little different, check out GameLuster’s Hidden Gems series for The Last Of Us Part II, where we dig into the tiny details found in the title.
In other Naughty Dog news, last week photos from a set in Berlin for the upcoming Uncharted movie were posted to social media. Spider-Man’s Tom Holland – who takes on the lead role as treasure-hunter and adventurer Nathan Drake – is seen alongside Mark Wahlberg (Sully).
Despite the absence of Sully’s signature ‘stache and grey hair, the photos indicate the film could tie into the events of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, but also appear reminiscent to a heist sequence within Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.