The Last of Us 2 is now PS4's fastest-selling exclusive from an internal studio.
PlayStation Worldwide Marketing boss Eric Lempel shared the news in a post to the official PlayStation Blog, revealing that the next chapter in Naughty Dog's post-apocalyptic story sold more than 4 million copies as of June 21. It went on sale on June 19, so that only represents its first weekend worth of sales.
"We are so immensely grateful to the millions of fans around the world that have played The Last of Us Part 2 and shared their experiences with us over the last week," creative director Neil Druckmann said in a brief message to players. "We set out to tell a new kind of story, one that deals with difficult themes and would challenge you in unexpected ways. Hearing how the experience has resonated with so many of you and witnessing the type of thoughtful discussions it has sparked has been so incredible.
Becoming the fastest-selling first-party exclusive on PS4 means The Last of Us 2 has vaulted past illustrious competition such as God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, Spider-Man PS4, and Naughty Dog's own Uncharted 4. Granted, The Last of Us 2 does have the advantage of there being more PS4 owners now than when each of those respective games was released, but 4 million copies is still an impressive achievement on its own.
The next major first-party game coming to PS4 will be Ghost of Tsushima when it arrives on July 17. Since it's not the next entry in a beloved franchise, I'd be surprised if it can eclipse The Last of Us 2's lightning-fast sales - but if all those gameplay trailers have taught us anything, it's that we should never underestimate a samurai-turned-ninja's capacity for surprise attacks. Whoever wins, we also win, because they're both rad games.
