Is The Last of Us Based on a Game or a Book? Origins Explained

Short answer

The original source is the 2013 game The Last of Us from Naughty Dog. There is no source book behind the core story, so there is no reading order to follow before the show.

Why people think there must be a book

The confusion makes sense. The story has a strong emotional arc, a clear beginning and end, and a lot of the structure feels like prestige drama. It also has a world that invites explanation, which is exactly the kind of thing readers often expect from a novel.

But its DNA is different. The original version was built for play, which means tension, pacing, and discovery all work a little differently than they do in a book. The show keeps the same core relationship and survival premise, but it translates that material into a format that does not depend on player control.

If you want the original story, start here

If your goal is to experience the source material, the game is the right starting point.

• Start with the first game if you want the original story arc.
• Start with the series if you want the fastest way in and prefer television.
• Skip the search for a source novel if you were hoping for a book version to read or listen to first.

That last point matters for readers who normally use books as their entry point into an adaptation. In this case, the original story is not hiding in a novelization. The game is the source, and the show is the screen adaptation.

How close is the adaptation?

In broad terms, the series stays close to the spirit of the game. It keeps the central setup, the emotional stakes, and the major character relationship that made the story memorable.

At the same time, the show is not trying to copy the game scene for scene. Some moments are reshaped for television, some pacing is expanded, and some characters get more room because a series can spend time in places a game handles through gameplay. That is a normal shift when interactive storytelling moves to screen.

So if you know the game, the show will feel familiar without being redundant. If you don’t know the game, the series still works as a complete story on its own.

What to read next if you wanted a similar mood

If the real reason you asked about the source is that you wanted another story with the same bleak-but-human tone, move to a novel with a similar feel instead:

• The Road by Cormac McCarthy
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
• World War Z by Max Brooks
• The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey
• Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Those are not connected to The Last of Us, but they work well if you wanted the same mix of survival, grief, and character-driven tension.

Verdict

The Last of Us is based on a video game, not a book. The 2013 game is the original source, and the TV series adapts it for screen. If you want the earliest version of the story, start with the game. If you just want the easiest way into the world, the series is the better first stop.

FAQ

Is The Last of Us based on a book? No. The core story comes from a video game.

What is the original source of The Last of Us? The 2013 game from Naughty Dog.

Do I need to play the game before watching the show? No. The series is built to work for new viewers.

Is there an audiobook version of the original story? Not in the usual book-adaptation sense, because the original story is a game, not a novel.