Naughty Dog condemns online abuse aimed at The Last of Us 2 staff

Naughty Dog has condemned harassment and threats made against The Last of Us Part 2’s game director and cast.

In a statement published on Sunday, the PlayStation-owned studio said: “Although we welcome critical discussion, we condemn any form of harassment or threats directed towards our team and cast.

“Their safety is our top priority, but we must all work together to root out this type of behavior and maintain a constructive and compassionate discourse.”

The statement was followed by a tweet from game director Neil Druckmann, in which he shared images of the death threats and abuse he had received from people citing the PS4 sequel’s controversial story.

“You can love or hate the game and share your thoughts about it. Unfortunately too many of the messages I’ve been getting are vile, hateful, & violent,” the director said.

Druckmann’s post received over 7,000 replies and in a follow-up tweet he thanked those who had shared messages of support.

“Just know, that despite all this, if somehow the lord gave me a second chance at making this game, I’d do it all over again,” he said.

On Friday, performer Laura Bailey had shared images of online abuse she had received.

“I try to only post positive stuff on here… but sometimes this just gets a little overwhelming,” she said, later adding: “The amount of encouraging responses to this… I’ve always believed that good people far outweigh the bad. Thanks for reminding me of that today.”

Following its release on June 19, The Last of Us Part 2 has been a huge sales success for Sony. the Naughty Dog title sold through more than 4 million copies in its first three days, making it the fastest-selling PS4 exclusive to date.

According to review aggregation site Metacritic, The Last of Us Part 2 has an aggregate score of 94, making it one of the highest-rated games on PS4.

In VGC’s The Last of Us 2 review, critic Jon Bailes calls the sequel “Naughty Dog’s greatest game.”