As shared by the Hollywood Reporter, HBO is set to develop a show based on the Naughty Dog and Sony creation, TheLast of Us. The story arch will be inspired by the first game, as well as its sequel, set to release later this year.
The Last of Us follows the story of Neil, a hardened survivor of a lethal fungal outbreak, and 14-year old Ellie, who may be the cure for the pandemic.
HBO is working with the game's director, Neil Druckmann, and the creator of the digital-series Chernobyl, Craig Mazin, to adapt the game into a screenplay. The game's sequel is set to release May 29th and it does not look like the team will be taking any breaks. Adapting an on-going storyline into a television series can be a daunting task, as some of us may know, but Neil and Craig do not seem worried.
Both Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin maintain high praise for each other, with the latter admitting that “Neil Druckmann is without question the finest storyteller working in the video game medium".
Neil believes that "with Chernobyl, Craig and HBO created a tense, harrowing, emotional masterpiece". He also shared that he "couldn’t think of better partners to bring the story of The Last of Us to life as a television show.”
Whenever a team is this excited to work together, it works out well.
"Fortnite" Leads Top Earning Video Games Of 2019 With Massive $1.8 Billion
"Fortnite" led the way again this year.
Despite a 25% decrease in earnings from 2018, Fortnite was still the highest-earning video game of 2019, as reported by Variety.
The massively successful game managed to see $1.8 billion this year, leading the way again for top earners, according to research from Nielsen-owned SuperData. In 2018, Fortnite set a record for earnings with $2.4 billion.
Free-to-play games as a whole lead the way in earnings this year. Nexon’s Dungeon Fighter Online, Tencent’s Honour of Kings, Riot Games's League of Legends, King Digital’s Candy Crush Saga, Niantic’s Pokémon Go, and SmileGate’s Crossfire all earned over $1 billion in revenue.
The top two titles for AAA games this year were EA’s FIFA 19, which earned $786 million, followed by Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which earned $645 million.
SuperData projects 2020 to be a major year for AAA blockbusters with CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077, which stars Keanu Reeves and Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II both releasing in a few months.
To cap off 2020 will be the release of the next generation of consoles. Both Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X are expected to release by Holiday 2020. SuperData describes the impact of their release on gaming sales as, “a large expansion opportunity for digital games as powerful hardware enables new, more immersive experiences."