Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Naughty Dog Rebrands 'Outbreak Day' In Light Of COVID-19 For The Last Of Us Fans
Every September 26 for the past seven years, The Last of Us fans joined Naughty Dog in celebrating an incredible PlayStation experience. This year, however, a key change is being made to the name of this annual celebration in light of COVID-19.
Previously, this date was secured as Outbreak Day given the nature of infection within the game universe itself. With the number of deaths due to COVID-19 on a global scale with many areas still far from the point of containment, the team over at Naughty Dog wanted to make a change out of respect.
No longer called Outbreak Day, every September 26 from here on out will be called The Last of Us Day. Short, sweet, to the point. No confusion on the game being celebrated, no correlation to real-life events that are still currently in progress.
Naughty Dog took to Twitter to relay the change, saying that due to the nature of this year's events and the ongoing issues surrounding COVID-19, that they "didn't feel right continuing on under the Outbreak Day banner."
The company added, "While the name and the date are rooted in the fiction of the game, September 26 means so much more than lore. It's about showing our appreciation to our fans."
Previous years celebrating the Last of Us franchise included sales on merch, game discounts, fan tributes, and so much more. This year, Naughty Dog is celebrating the launch of The Last of Us Part II and teases "a lot of exciting things planned and we can't wait to share them with you in just a few days."
New DLC? We can dream, Harold.
The Last of Us Part II is available now on PlayStation 4. Thoughts on the name change and their reasoning behind it? Thoughts on the Naughty Dog sequel? Shout them out loud and proud in the comment section below!
[Source: Twitter]
Products In This Article
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
