The Last of Us is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Players assume control of Joel (Troy Baker), escorting the young Ellie (Ashley Johnson) across a post-apocalyptic United States. The game's development was led by Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann, as game director and creative director, respectively. The game was officially announced on December 10, 2011, and was nominated for Most Anticipated Game at the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards. Following its previews at E3 2012, the game won five awards at the Game Critics Awards, including Best of Show, which it also won from several gaming publications.
The game was released for PlayStation 3 on June 14, 2013, and for PlayStation 4 as The Last of Us Remastered in July and August 2014. It received "universal acclaim", according to review aggregator Metacritic, based on 98 reviews. Within three weeks of its release, The Last of Us sold approximately 3.4 million copies, and seven million by July 2014, becoming one of the best-selling PlayStation 3 games. The game received six nominations at the Golden Joystick Awards, of which it won three, and seven nominations at Spike VGX, with Baker and Johnson winning Best Voice Actor and Best Voice Actress, respectively.
The Last of Us won Best Animated Video Game at the 41st Annie Awards, and Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing at the 66th Writers Guild of America Awards. It led the 17th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards with thirteen nominations and ten awards, including Game of the Year, received five nominations at the 3rd Annual New York Game Awards, of which it won the Big Apple Award for Best Game, and won four of its seven nominations at the SXSW Gaming Awards, including Game of the Year. At the 10th British Academy Video Games Awards, The Last of Us received ten nominations and won five awards: Best Game, Action & Adventure, Audio Achievement, Performer, and Story. At the 14th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards, it won Game of the Year, Best Design, and Best Narrative. It received nine nominations at the 12th Annual Game Audio Network Guild Awards, of which it won four: Audio of the Year, Sound Design of the Year, Best Audio Mix, and Best Dialogue.
The game appeared on several publications' year-end lists of the best games, including The A.V. Club, The Daily Telegraph, GamesRadar, GameTrailers, GameRevolution, Giant Bomb, Good Game, Hardcore Gamer, IGN, Kotaku, VG247, and VideoGamer.com. The Last of Us Remastered received nominations at The Game Awards 2014 and the 15th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards. The game was named among the best games of the 2010s by The Hollywood Reporter, Mashable, Metacritic, and VG247, and was added to the World Video Game Hall of Fame at the Strong National Museum of Play in May 2023. It is often ranked among the greatest video games ever made.