Fans of the popular game, The Last of Us, will recognize September 26 as the day where everything changed for our protagonists Joel and Ellie. That was the day when the deadly cordyceps virus was released to the public which ended up sending the world in complete chaos and has developed into a post-apocalyptic world as we know as the setting of the game and its sequel. Since its popularly acclaimed release on PlayStation 3, Naughty Dog wanted to take this opportunity and make it a day about the community of the fandom and celebrate their love for Ellie and Joel’s adventures. Originally the one-day event was called “Outbreak Day” but the team for Naughty Dog was too keen into keeping the name since the recent issue the world is dealing with during this time and how the name would come off as offensive. They made their statement on their Twitter page letting fans know about the recent change and is now labeling the community event, The Last of Us Day instead.
The Naughty Dog Team said, “For the last 7 years, September 26 has been our opportunity to recognize and celebrate the increasing passion of The Last of Us community. However, as we thought about the events of the last year and the challenges we all continue to face with COVID-19, we didn’t feel right continuing on under the ‘Outbreak Day’ banner. While the name and date are rotted in the fiction of the game, September 26 means so much more than lore. It’s about showing our appreciation for our fans.”
With this sudden change happening, Naughty Dog hopes that fans will understand the situation and will actually be excited for what is to come for The Last of Us Day event happening in a couple of days.