Last of Us 2 Theory: What’s Happening Outside The United States?

Although The Last of Us games have been solely focused on events happening in America, many players can’t help but wonder what’s going on in the rest of the world, and just how far the franchise’s deadly infection has spread. There are a few clues scattered throughout both The Last of Us and The Last of Us: Part 2, but ultimately, it requires players to do a bit of inferring if they want to put the puzzle pieces together.

Unfortunately, The Last of Us franchise makes very little references to the events that are taking place outside of the United States. The games focus exclusively on exploring how different states in the U.S. have been affected by the Cordyceps outbreak, and surprisingly, each state is very different.

While each state in America that players have explored in The Last of Us series is as ravaged by the infection as the next, what sets them apart is the factions which have risen to take control. In the sequel, players were introduced to the Washington Liberation Front, which took control of Seattle from the army after the city was made into a quarantine zone. Similarly, in the first game, players met the Pittsburgh hunters as well as the Jackson County settlement in Wyoming.

How The Rest Of The World Is Impacted In TLOU2

The only mention the game gives to anywhere outside of the U.S. happens at the beginning of The Last of Us when players can find a newspaper clipping in Joel and Sarah’s house. The article provides context as to how the Cordyceps infection started spreading in the first place, attributing it to mutated crops that originated in South America. “The Food and Drug Administration’s investigation of crops potentially tainted with mold continues across the country,” the article reads. “Initial lists distributed to vendors nationwide warned against crops imported from South America, but now the scope has extended to include Central America and Mexico.”

Given that the article seemed to imply the infection originated in South America, and some of the first places to become significantly impacted by The Last of Us’ disease included Mexico and Central America, it’s likely these places are faring similarly or even worse than America in the game’s universe. It’s not unrealistic to assume there are various factions vying for control there as well, similar to what players experience in The Last of Us games. During a moment of dialogue in The Last of Us: Part 2, for example, Dina reveals to Abby that there’s a faction called The Ravens vying for control in New Mexico, where she and her family used to live. There’s likely a food shortage as well as a lack of other basic supplies around the world. The majority of the population – 60% according to the newspaper clippings – is infected at the beginning of the first game, and these numbers likely only rose by the time The Last of Us: Part 2 takes place.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that countries outside of the Americas, particularly Europe and Asia, might be doing better at handling the outbreak, since it would’ve spread to them later than the U.S. There may even be a place that’s been able to contain the infection entirely if they had enough warning when the outbreak initially began. It would be especially feasible for a small island to avoid spreading The Last of Us’ infection to its people, given its proximity away from the mainland, particularly if it’s not a tourist hotspot. Perhaps the fact that the game never mentions anything in the story is proof that this isn’t the case. But then again, given the condition that America is in, there likely wouldn’t be an easy way to communicate how other countries overseas are doing.

Unfortunately, The Last of Us franchise provides little details as to what is going on in the rest of the world, thereby missing a great opportunity to take the Cordyceps infections storyline even further.

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