The Last of Us PC release date has certainly been a long time coming. First announced at the Summer Games Fest back in June 2022, console owners only had a few months to wait before the remake was in their hands. Those few months are a drop in the bucket compared to PC users, who’ve been looking on in envy at Naughty Dog’s story-driven epic for almost a decade.
Not to be confused with the console-exclusive remaster, The Last of Us PC release date is Part 1 of Joel and Ellie’s journey. It’s also the latest from Sony’s stable of first-party exclusives to make its way onto PC, coming hot on the heels of the Returnal release date. While we don’t know much about what’s going on under the hood of the PC port just yet, we do have an idea of what to expect thanks to the console version. As an early contender for one of the best PC games of the year, here’s everything we know ahead of The Last of Us PC release date.
The Last of Us PC release date
The Last of Us PC release date is March 28, 2023, and it will be available on PC via Steam. It was released on PlayStation 5 back in December 2022.
Fans of the renowned zombie game will recall that The Last of Us PC was originally scheduled to release on March 3 but received a delay from developer Naughty Dog to ensure it’s in “the best shape possible” at launch. As you might expect, it won’t be available on Game Pass.
The Last of Us PC gameplay
While there is a growing trend of remakes incorporating brand-new gameplay and story elements, The Last of Us PC promises to be as faithful to the original as possible. The structure of both level design and cutscenes are virtually identical, as seen in the one-to-one comparisons of gameplay footage between the remake and the remaster compiled by Naughty Dog.
That being said, there are a few gameplay tweaks we can expect ahead of The Last of Us PC release date, most of which have been informed by the sequel. For one thing, enemy AI has been improved significantly for both humans and the Infected, which behave more like their more modern, intelligent counterparts in The Last of Us Part 2. Speedrun and Permadeath modes have also retroactively carried over to The Last of Us PC, as well as the full suite of accessibility options.
The Last of Us PC also includes Left Behind, the two-hour prequel chapter set three weeks prior to Joel and Ellie’s chance meeting in the main story. This DLC charts the blossoming friendship between Ellie and Riley during their time at military school prior to the discovery of Ellie’s immunity to the Cordyceps virus.
The Last of Us PC trailers
At present, Naughty Dog has not released a dedicated trailer for The Last of Us PC version, and all current trailers use gameplay footage captured on PS5. This may come as a disappointment to fans eager to find out how the action-adventure game is likely to perform on PC, but the pre-purchase trailer released by Sony provides a general sense of how we can expect The Last of Us PC to compare to the console-exclusive remaster.
The Last of Us PC port
We finally know the finer details of what we can expect from The Last of Us PC port thanks to a PlayStation blog detailing the PC features and specs. Notably, it includes full Dualsense support, along with an adaptive mode to combine inputs across peripherals.
We also know that it will run on Steam Deck thanks to a tweet from Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann, though this wasn’t included in the blog. Here are the full The Last of US PC system requirements for your perusal.
Unfortunately, there’s a Last of Us building shaders issue plaguing PC players at the moment, and it may put the breaks on your first playthrough. Worse still, the port’s rocky launch has resulted in negative Steam review scores, but Naughty Dog says it’s actively working to resolve performance issues.
The Last of Us PC editions
The Last of Us PC has two special editions: the Digital Deluxe Edition and Firefly Edition. The Digital Deluxe Edition offers early unlocks of a range of skills and weapons, including increased healing and reload speed. It also boasts a total of six weapon skins – two each for the pistol, shotgun, and bow. If you want to know where the best place is to buy the game, here are the best The Last of Us PC deals.
The Firefly Edition includes all of the digital content available in the Digital Deluxe Edition. As a physical product, it comes complete with a steelbook case and four issues of The Last of Us: American Dreams comic with exclusive cover art.
Alongside The Last of Us PC editions, there are several pre-order bonuses you can expect to receive if you can’t wait until launch day to part with your money. The Last of Us PC pre-order bonuses are:
- Bonus Supplements: Used to increase attributes such as max health, crafting speed, listen mode distance, healing speed, and improve weapon sway.
- Bonus weapon parts: Used to upgrade weapons and craft weapon holsters at one of the many The Last of Us workbench tool locations.
That’s everything you need to know for The Last of Us PC release date. If you’re a fan of intricate plots and complicated characters, our list of the best story games is sure to keep you enthralled right up until launch. Alternatively, if you can’t get enough of the walking dead, we’ve got some exceptional horror games to keep you up at night. We also have guides for The Last of Us training manuals and the combinations for The Last of Us safe codes so you can learn of their locations ahead of time.