Sony’s Video Game of the Year Is About, Um, a Virus Apocalypse

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- Sony Corp. and software developer Naughty Dog are putting a new video game out on June 19 that’s arguably the most anticipated release this year. It’s set in a fictional version of the U.S. that’s been ravaged by a global pandemic. No, really.

The makers of The Last of Us Part II, for the PlayStation 4, couldn’t have known the world would actually be desolated by a deadly virus when development began six years ago. The sequel to The Last of Us, which has sold more than 17 million copies since its release in 2013, revolves around a mutant fungus that transforms people into zombies—who then spread their spores and infect other humans.

Will anyone want to play a game about a terrible pandemic in the midst of a terrible pandemic? If players (or their parents) aren’t up for the emotional brutality that made the first game so indelible, The Last of Us Part II may not be the blockbuster Sony needs. The game will be one of the final titles made exclusively for the PS4, ahead of the release of the PlayStation 5 later this year. As it prepares for the transition, the Japanese hardware giant is trying to squeeze as much revenue as possible out of the current model. The PS4 has sold more than 110 million units since its launch seven years ago.

The Last of Us was critically acclaimed, with a narrative subtlety uncommon for video games. It told the story of Joel, a grizzled survivor of the pandemic in his late 40s, and his journey across America with Ellie, a teenage girl who’s immune to the infection and may therefore be key to a cure. This devastated version of the U.S. is populated with infected zombies and marauding gangs and ruled by an authoritarian government that wrangles survivors into police-controlled quarantine zones.

Fans have been feverishly awaiting the next installment, which was announced in 2016 and delayed multiple times. According to Mat Piscatella, an analyst at the NPD Group, which tracks video game sales, the sequel’s too-close-to-home subject matter may not hold it back. “Games of all types and genres have seen boosts, sometimes significantly,” he says. Almost everyone’s at home, after all.

One hit has been Nintendo Co.’s Animal Crossing, which was released on March 20, just as most of the world was entering lockdown. Instead of roaming a post-apocalyptic U.S., its players inhabit an idyllic island full of friendly animals. It became a cultural phenomenon as the perfect quarantine game, in which players could do things that once seemed mundane, like going outside and visiting neighbors. The title immediately broke records, selling more than 13 million copies in its first six weeks.

If Animal Crossing is the ultimate escapist fantasy, The Last of Us Part II is its polar opposite—a reminder that no matter how bad things are, they can get worse. The game’s director, Neil Druckmann, has said it’s intended to make players feel uncomfortable, and early impressions point to a violent, depressing experience. This time around they’ll play as an older Ellie battling a monstrous cult of religious fanatics and other enemies.

Reviews so far have been laudatory, with the game receiving a 96 out of 100 on the video game review aggregation website Metacritic. Some reviewers, however, have criticized The Last of Us Part II’s brutal depiction of violence. One critic called it “needlessly bleak, at a time when a nihilistic worldview has perhaps never been less attractive.” Greg Miller, a veteran YouTube host who operates a popular video production company called Kinda Funny, told Bloomberg Businessweek the game was “fantastic” and says the real-world pandemic didn’t sour the experience for him.

The Last of Us Part II isn’t the only game that reflects current headlines. Originally released in 2012, a game called Plague Inc. received a surge of attention earlier this year. Its players take the role of a pathogen, making decisions about how to infect the Earth. “People seem to use the game to educate themselves, or to help them understand what’s going on in a safe, controllable environment,” designer James Vaughan says—something no one is likely to say about Sony’s new title.

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