The Last of Us Part 2's Lost DLC That Would've Broken Our Hearts

Few games have ever caused as much disagreement as The Last of Us Part 2. Many critics gave it great reviews, and it won a lot of Game of the Year awards, but many of its fans were disappointed by the story choices.

Even though it was a big hit, Naughty Dog's emotional and story risks caused a lot of discussion and left fans both captivated and torn. Even though the game was out for good, there was a piece of content called the Tommy DLC that could have totally changed its legacy, but never did.

In December 2024, Neil Druckmann, co-president of Naughty Dog, told the Last of Us group something that made waves. He revealed that Naughty Dog had written and planned a DLC about Joel's brother Tommy that would have continued his story after the terrible events of Part 2.

Even if the story was finished, the content was eventually put on hold and never given to players. When this was found out, it made me wonder why Tommy's story wasn't shared and how it might have changed the overall plot of the series.

By the end of Part 2, Tommy Miller had lost everything. He had been there for Joel during the worst days of the spread. His marriage to Maria was over, Abby's attack hurt his body beyond repair, and the death of his brother made him feel heavy in the soul.

The planned DLC would have looked at his life after these events, showing how hard it was for him to rebuild himself in a world that didn't seem to offer any comfort.

It wasn't going to be another story about getting payback. Instead, it was going to focus on how loss and guilt affect people emotionally, showing Tommy's inner struggle as he tried to find meaning in his life while it was falling apart.

In the game, Tommy would have been trying to keep going in Jackson, the town he helped build. He was once a recognized leader, but now he was just a shadow of the person he used to be. Simple jobs that used to be easy became impossible to complete.

His aim was off, and his body was weak. Instead of respect, the people around him felt sorry for him or angry at him. The woman he loved, Maria, wouldn't talk to him. She was a steady reminder of the life he had ruined. It's possible that the DLC would have shown how lonely he was and how he was trying to find meaning in a world where nothing stayed the same.

The way Naughty Dog planned to connect Tommy's problems in the present with memories of the early outbreak years makes the idea of this DLC even more interesting. Players would have been taken back to the dark early days of the end of the world in these scenes, which would have shown how the brothers interacted before they became stable.

Tommy, as a young, hopeful boy and as a man who had lived through years of survival, would have made their relationship more interesting.

The brothers' anger would have been shown in horrible detail, showing how it grew and finally caused them to grow apart. These flashbacks would have given important background to Tommy's deeds in Part 2 and made his journey more emotional.

Tommy's story was supposed to be told through a mix of stealth and survival games, with a focus on telling emotional stories. One of the most interesting parts was when Tommy found Joel's old bag. It was full of things from their past together, like photos of Sarah, maps they used to get around the country, and a broken watch.

Each item would have set off a flashback, making Tommy face how complicated his connection with his brother really is. In the DLC, it was said that the painful truth that Joel wasn't back because of payback would be shown. More loss, broken relationships, and pain were the only things that came from it. It was the same lesson that Ellie had learned, but it was looked at from a totally different angle.

So why did this DLC never come out? Druckmann said there were two reasons: the mental and physical toll of making Part 2 and the fact that fans weren't sure how they would react to it. It was hard work making Part 2.

The long development cycle was marked by "crunch" and high standards. The studio was literally worn out by the end of the game, and the team needed some time to rest. Creating a large DLC would have been harder work, put more stress on the writers, and been worse for their health. In the end, Naughty Dog had to make the tough choice to put the health of their team ahead of adding more content.

There was also the matter of money to think about. Part 2 got mixed reviews, which meant that a DLC, no matter how emotionally rich, might not have found a big enough audience to be worth the money.

A lot of fans had already moved on, either because they were happy with the story or because they were too angry to play any further. By putting the DLC on hold, the studio was able to work on other projects, such as the highly anticipated The Last of Us Part 3.

That being said, Naughty Dog didn't totally end Tommy's story. Some parts of his trip might still show up in Part 3, but nothing official has been said yet. The story, the flashbacks, and Tommy's emotional range can still be found in the studio's files. Some of this material might be used in future releases, but the chances of that happening are very low.

It's also possible to learn more about Tommy's story through the planned HBO show.

There could be an episode about Tommy since The Last of Us Part 2 is going to be turned into a second season, and a third season has already been announced. Because the show can go beyond the stories in the games, the writers could go into more depth about Tommy's emotional journey, giving viewers a better sense of his character's struggle and eventual redemption.

The story of Tommy's DLC makes you think of terrible things that might have been. It's one of the best "what ifs" in video games—a look into a story that was written but never came to life. But even though players never got to play this material, the fact that it exists at all shows how deep The Last of Us's world is still.

A powerful new layer could have been added to the story by telling about Tommy's sadness, his guilt, and his path to redemption. A player might get to see it one day. For now, though, it's still a reminder of how powerful stories can be and how there are always stories waiting to be told, even in the most fully realized worlds.