The Last of Us Episode 1 is free on YouTube and HBO in some countries
Naughty Dog’s cooperation with HBO could not be more successful: The Last of Us has won acclaim with critics as well as viewers in its first few episodes and seeks to build up even more momentum. HBO and its distribution partner Sky have now put the show’s first episode up on YouTube for free to get more people hooked, but this offer only goes for a few select countries.
Those in the UK can catch the episode on the SkyTV channel, those in Italy on SkyItalia. Anyone in the US can watch it for free on HBO Max.
This is a strategy HBO successfully used before with award-winning series such as Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.
The show has also had a noticeable impact on the sale of The Last of Us video games, as noted by industry analyst Christopher Dring, who cites digital sales numbers from the UK. The Last of Us Part 1 and The Last of Us Remastered tripled their sales compared to the previous week, according to him.
This certainly bodes well for a potential The Last of Us Part 3, the making of which depends on if Naughty Dog can come up with an impactful story idea, says the studio’s co-president Neil Druckmann. If a third game in the series is made, it may take inspiration from Elden Rings’s way of storytelling.
You can also read our The Last of Us HBO preview to find out more about how it stands up to its source material.
