The Growing Future of The Last of Us

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The Growing Future of The Last of Us

The latest on the upcoming online experience, The Last of Us on HBO, and The Last of Us Part I.

Whether you’re here following our Summer Games Fest announcements or just catching up on the latest news from the studio, we’re excited to share what’s in store for the future of The Last of Us. Many of you have expressed how strongly The Last of Us series resonates with you, and we’re humbled by the community’s outpouring of passion and excitement towards the series’ growing and evolving world and characters.

We’re happy to share that The Last of Us Part II has sold through more than 10 million copies globally, as of this Spring. Knowing the support we have, our studio continues to see exciting, new avenues to introduce curious audiences and galvanize fans. With those opportunities in mind, let’s talk about the immense future of The Last of Us.

Standalone Multiplayer

It’s no secret that many of you are not only drawn to The Last of Us’ stories but also the game’s original Factions multiplayer. Since The Last of Us Factions’ release almost a decade ago, dedicated players have been vocal about an expansion upon that offering. 

However, we can finally announce that we’re creating something much larger than a mode. We’re thrilled to share a piece of concept art from our upcoming multiplayer experience, which is an extremely ambitious undertaking. We’re growing our studio significantly to ensure we build this full-scale, standalone game, with its massive scope and immense world, in a way that fans have come to expect from The Last of Us and Naughty Dog.

We aim to make our newest entry into multiplayer inviting to new players while still a thrilling challenge for more of our seasoned fans. There will be more news to come next year, and we cannot wait to introduce you to the team behind this new experience!

The Last of Us on HBO

From the onset, our original vision for The Last of Us’ story was cinematic and character driven, and HBO enthusiastically continued the spirit of that same vision to bring this story to TV screens worldwide. Helmed by Craig Mazin, Creator and Writer of Chernobyl, in tandem with Executive Producer Carolyn Strauss and Neil Druckmann, the incredible cast and crew strove to ensure a faithful retelling of the story and its intricately detailed world.

In the spirit of collaboration and authenticity, Neil has taken on the roles of Executive Producer and Writer and also directed a full episode. Bringing The Last of Us to life has been a deeply creative collaboration between our studio and HBO.

The worlds of video games and television continue to overlap as Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker, Ellie and Joel’s in-game actors respectively, join the cast in major roles. We cannot wait to see them on-screen along with new and longtime fans of The Last of Us.

The Last of Us Part I

The Last of Us released almost a decade ago on the PlayStation 3 console, and it’s left an indelible mark on our studio. Joel and Ellie’s story continues to be powerfully evocative with players worldwide, and we’re humbled these characters continue to leave an impression. 

With leaps in technology and hardware that allow us to push the limits of the visual fidelity and interactivity, we’re thrilled to announce this complete remake of The Last of Us, releasing September 2, 2022 for the PlayStation 5 console and in development for PC. 

The Growing Future of The Last of Us

We’ve implemented modernized gameplay, improved controls, and expanded accessibility options in this single-player experience to allow even more individuals to enjoy the game. Effects, exploration, and combat have all been enhanced. Leveraging the PS5’s powerful hardware, we also implemented 3D Audio*, haptics, and adaptive triggers. Both returning fans and new players alike will have the opportunity to experience both The Last of Us Part I and its prequel story Left Behind in a whole new way. 

For this rebuild, Neil has passed the directorial baton to Game Director Matthew Gallant and Creative Director Shaun Escayg to bring this project to life. Matthew joined our studio a decade ago to work on The Last of Us and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. He rose to Lead Systems Designer on The Last of Us Part II and co-headed the charge for over 60 accessibility features. Shaun started as Lead Cinematic Animator on The Last of Us and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Shaun would later go on to become the Creative Director of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. With their deep creative and technical expertise with the series, they’re the perfect fit to helm this project, and you’ll be hearing even more about The Last of Us Part I from them soon.

Along with the trailer, we’re also pleased to announce that you may pre-order The Last of Us Part I for PS5 today at 4PM PT**. We partnered with PlayStation to develop multiple editions of the game: 

The Last of Us Part I Standard Edition ($69.99 USD MSRP/ $89.99 CAD MSRP/ €79.99 EUR MSRP/ ¥7,900 JPY MSRP).

The Last of Us Part I The Digital Deluxe ($79.99 USD MSRP/ $99.99 CAD MSRP/ €89.99 EUR MSRP/ ¥8,900 JPY MSRP) includes an early unlock of the following in-game items:

  • Increased Crafting Speed Skill 
  • Increased Healing Speed Skill 
  • 9mm Reload Speed Increase Upgrade  
  • Rifle Clip Capacity Increase Upgrade  
  • Explosive Arrows Gameplay Modifier 
  • Dither Punk Filter 
  • Speedrun Mode 
  • Six Weapon Skins: Black Gold 9mm Pistol, Silver Filigree 9mm Pistol, Rubber Tactical Shotgun, Sculpted Oak Shotgun, Arctic White Bow, Carbon Black Bow

If you pre-order** any edition of The Last of Us Part I for PS5, you’ll receive the following in-game items***:

  • Bonus Supplements to upgrade your skillset
  • Bonus Weapon Parts to upgrade your arsenal

We are looking forward to sharing even more over the coming months leading up to the release of The Last of Us Part I. Your love and passion for our games are truly inspiring, and we’re immensely proud to share this experience with you.

Endure and survive!

__

*3D Audio via built-in TV speakers or analog/USB stereo headphones. Set up required.

**Depending on your region, it may take some time for physical editions to appear. Please check with your chosen local retailer for listings and availability.

***Pre-order bonuses are not available in some regions. Please check with your chosen local retailer for availability.

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253 Comments

  • No factions multiplayer for a full priced game? Upgrade path? Where is the creativity PlayStation is known for?

  • AmericanSamurai1

    Think I’ll wait in a price drop, already own it on PS3 and PS4. Sony don’t be so greedy.

  • Please release the firefly edition in Europe, it’s unfair to make this edition only available in the USA

  • So far, this generation of PlayStation has been really disappointing. This remaster just adds to the disappointment.

    It’s all about the money this gen. There’s clearly no passion for gaming or originality at the top of Sony. It’s all about the £$s.

    £70 for games that are no more complex than anything made in the last 2 gens. They’re not bad, but a 40% price hike over ps4 games? 40%! No thanks.

    “Exclusives” launch on pc, and when they do they are half the price of the PlayStation launch price.

    Money is being poured into developing mobile and online battle royale clones, and at the same time the PlayStation 5 gets remasters of ps3 games.

    Sony had a winning formula – affordable console and affordable games. Exclusive games that tempted in the masses. The ps5 console is still affordable, but the games are a rip off. And the games are no longer Exclusive. Goodbye, winning formula.

    I have owned every PlayStation since ps1 and have never been so disappointed in the direction of the brand.

    Ever since control moved to the US and Jim Ryan things have been heading downhill fast. It’s like the company is on self distruct.

    The ps4 formula worked well. It made Sony a tonne of money. But apparently it wasn’t enough.

    Greed will be the undoing of this PlayStation generation.

    Sony (under Jim Ryan):
    “For the payers”

    • It is seriously sad ngl. It makes me want to cry knowing that those PC pirates can defile this masterpiece. Really disappointed.

    • I agree. But I get it, they are doing what they think is best for their business. So we should do whats best for our pockets.

      I would not have bought a PS5 if I knew the plan was to release the PC games closer and closer to PS launches.

      (Cheaper games from Steam or key resellers, no PS+ fees, no forced dual sense since PS5 ported games can be played with non-dualsense controllers, can play games like Last of Us Part 1 on PC hardware from 2016 – same year as PS4 Pro etc.)

      There is no benefit to staying on the console platform unless you enjoy paying $70USD for day 1 games.

      I already started waiting for PC ports of Returnal, Horizon FW, GT7 and the other games that have leaked. Now I just gotta get my gaming group to come along with me. (It won’t be hard since PC has all the games now)

    • Well said. Don’t forget: they shutdown Japan Studio this gen too.

      PlayStation have lost their identity.

    • @metaquadrax and @zanfear I really appreciate your replies (thought I might just get flamed for being a miserable git!).
      It really is sad, and disappointing.
      I could be wrong but i think that the closure of Japan studio and the merging of the blogs both stem from internal power struggles that have led Sony PlayStation to where it is today (in a mess).
      I remain hopeful that the bottom line will convince the board that they are heading in the wrong direction.
      How long that will take us anyone’s guess.
      It will happen eventually. Hopefully it won’t be too late.

    • Just buy games on sale then, i’ve had no troubles.

      We are customers, not execs.

      They have said what they are doing and been transparent about, give them the benefit of the doubt or don’t either way they do not care what we write on the blog.

      If we buy the psvr2 they care, if we give it great software attach they care.

      if we give plus extra or premium the attach rate they want on ps5 they care.

      see where i am going with this?

      they don’t care if we buy games on sale or pan game x or game y. Or if core playstation players are mad or indifferent about pc. They care about the $$$

      they are a business, and have always been a big corporation. not our best childhood friend like the nintendo people twist themselves into thinking.

      Ps3 era as a business Sony was in a bad way, they focused on value and core games and that in the end turned the corner for the playstation business for them. After being dominant for psx and ps2.

      PS4 was a safe continuation of 3 and many of their strategies but with a focus on services and complimentary hardware to varying degrees of success in vita and vr.

      When you look at their business beyond entertainment playstation movies and music they were having problems and have massively restructured and changed a lot of their business.

      Look at just tvs now versus every other gen they have the least number of models and are firmly a fringe player in units sold, this didn’t use to be the case and that is just what can plug into your ps4/ps5.

      forgive them as a company for using their golden goose to expand new “vectors” as they say, with mobile, live services, pc, vr2 and the inbound plus rebrand /expansion launch etc.

      We are allowed to not like what they are doing but it’s not like any of these platform holders owes us anything other than being transparent (which they are doing) and following through (which they)

      it comes across as almost childish and myopic the type of “analysis” on the blog.

      I mean really if you are so distraught about the writing on the wall, you have never had a better time to cash out of a console than ps5, a system 2 years in you could sell used for msrp+ seems o indicate people in fact do see the value where you don’t.

      yes yes i’m a sony shill, for those frothing to start typing. I just don’t see it solely from my own personal expectations or value proposition to play the hobby on their hardware. I ignore a lot of stuff i don’t care for, i don’t buy a lot of their stuff, i skip a lot of games, i often do not get plus as i feel the value is poor for me and in general. However things like extra look like they could change that, vr2 could fix what i thought was weak tea about vr etc.

      People getting do hung up on pc is beyond me. My real worry for all games is the live services micro transaction, where you know longer can evaluate value, but its a matter of how much you are being manipulated and ripped off after your neck deep.

      As long as sony keep their “third person walking” games coming then there is not anything to really be salty over by the ps3 and ps4 standard. For third party they are king. I don’t understand the complaining. its on pace with the pandemic the have better 1st party games than ps3 and ps4 in years 1-3. people have such short memories on this stuff.

    • I already made my choice that I will support Sony the bare minimum. Sad because this gen seemed so promising but they only care about the cod audience now.

    • Totally agreed, as I said before…

    • Yep actually hate the direction they have taken got my PS5 day one and feel embarrassed to have done so my friends are yet to buy one and I cannot say they should get one at all.They have failed us big time it’s sad but I’m done now this is too far

    • I can hardly recall a single day in recent months without grumbling about Jim Ryan XD
      I miss the old management. Had all PS consoles so far but currently skipping PS5. I’m a bit interested in getting PS VR 2 but even that needs also games that will make wanna buy it and for now I don’t see any to my liking.

    • 100% agree. Their greed is why I moved to PC. Games are so much cheaper (most of the time) and you don’t have to pay to play online or pay for their proprietary hardware and be locked into their system

    • @MetaQuadrax

      Looks like tempsuspenders finally created a new fake PSN account for blog commenting use and nothing else.
      How long do you think it will take for you to get banned from the site this time?

      @squibbley You do not want support from a person that always wanted PlayStation to fail…… 10 years ago and right now. I’m 100% with you that Playstation is making some terrible mistakes that past 2 years but don’t listen to that phony Xbot MetaQuadrax.

      Right here in that comment to you, they talk about the PC pirate “defilers”……….. yet in a another comment above they talk about how they are going to pirate the game and laughed about it. They instantly can’t keep their story/agenda straight.

      So don’t fall for it and keep an eye on the account until they get banned again.

  • Too much greed for a 9 year old game no matter how much I love it. 39.99$ would have been more appropriate price regardless of the work put into remaking it, which is no where as much as the time and expenses put into the original. So I’ll wait for it to drop below half price as I have no intentions of buying it for the third time at full price. Enough is enough.

    • Exactly. They continue to sell games at £70/$70 while making year-on-year record breaking net profits, that we can all see on their company accounts. Shame on this company. If they’re not paying their developers well now, they never will, and it’s not a price tag issue. I wouldn’t buy this even if it had a VR mode.

  • This price is hilarious

    • Definitely is a “wtf?”

      I’ve already got access to this on my PS4 external HDD on PS5 so I’ll either never get this or wait until it’s $20 or less.

      Price here is a weird and greedy decision, like Nintendo who price their remasters at full price for some reason.

      Guess they saw Nintendo getting away with it so they figure they’ll start doing the same.

  • Come on! The firefly edition its already sold out! 😭😭😭

  • Already paid full price for it twice. Would consider buying it a third time if it were like $10, but I have plenty of newer games to play.

  • Very nice! I’m hopeful about the show, excited to play the remake, and curious to know more about the multiplayer game (even though I’m not a big multiplayer guy myself).

    I don’t think people quite understand what this remake is. The phrase “it’s just a graphical upgrade” keeps getting thrown around, like Naughty Dog just put the original The Last of Us disc into a computer and pressed the “Upgrade” button. They had to go back and remake ALL of the assets. As in from scratch, like they would for a brand new game. The only difference is that they already have the script, music, and so on already finished, but the asset creation arguably takes up the most time. The facial animation alone probably took them a while (especially considering they most likely had to use the code from the PS3 version, which was notoriously a nightmare to deal with). The original Shadow of the Colossus came out in 2005, and then was remastered 6 years later in 2011, and then was remade 7 years later in 2018 and charged for full price, but I don’t remember anyone complaining about that game.

    It’s easy to complain “Why are they charging full price for an old game?”, without giving much thought to what’s going into it. They remade ALL of the assets (characters, items, levels) from old PS3 code, PLUS added new accessibility features, PLUS added new Dualsense enhancements, PLUS improved AI, AND incorporating TLOU Part 2 mechanics into the original game design. I know this is long, but if people are allowed to complain about it, then I’m allowed to defend it. Good job Naughty Dog! :D

  • Almost didn’t see Joel on the poster there xp

  • I’m not going to lie I was going to drop $100 on the firefly edition but it already listed as sold out, considering the announcement listed June 9th is same day posting this comment, I would they screwed this up. Meaning they underestimated demand which annoys me to the point that maybe I will just wait for the standard edition to go on sale.

  • Okay take my money then

  • So basically you are charging ps5 players $70/$99 when PC players get to play the game later on for $50 or pirated?

    • Yes,we pay more for nothing

    • I left Playstation and went to PC because of how much more Sony charges it’s “loyal fans” for games. Day one prices on PC are often 30-50% less here in NZ. even physical copies are cheaper than digital by a lot at most retailers here! Plus you don’t have to pay to play online, don’t need to pay to back up saves, don’t have to buy expensive proprietary controllers. Sony’s success has gone to their head, and with the digital only PS5, they’re ensuring they can continue to raise prices on their games… They’re greedy, arrogant and out-of-touch… I’d bet the money I’ve saved from the difference in price for games from Playstation to PC has already almost payed for my PC in just a few years

  • Has TLOU become Sony’s GTA V? 😂

  • Hi,
    I have a very simple suggestion, that I think will be beneficial for players and PlayStation : please increase the wishlist limit on PSN, from 100 items to at least 1000.
    There are many games releasing, big and small, and a wishlist is a simple feature to keep track of games you are interested in purchasing.
    I will post this comment on every blog post until it is implemented.
    Thank you for your consideration.

  • justin187xx_ttv

    BEYOND EXCITED READING THIS! I thought yeah maybe they will integrate the multiplayer with the ps4 remaster…Naughty dog of course has something much more..I knew you guys were cooking up something good. I can’t wait to see what its like..I use to love uncharted 2 multiplayer and pretty much everything else you guys have made. Much love guys keep up the good work. I’d love to see a feature that let’s you keep you camera on the right or left side. Unlike the originals where it always leans back to the right by default. I have benn a lover of 3rd person multiplayer shooters since Lost Planet 2. Again I cannot wait to see what you guys have in store.

  • Naughty Dog before: one IP per generation
    Naughty Dog now: one IP through 3 generations (including 2 remasters of the same game )

    I love The Last of Us and I will buy this new version on PS5 but it is kinda sad that Naughty Dog is now a one-IP studio

  • This is a complete waste of time and resources and you have the nerve to charge $70. Full greed mode.

  • I would like to see a Stand alone open world like Watcraft and others like that! I know i would pay monthly or Yearly to have it like that!! Have the best of both worlds where you can not only explore but fight, level up and ofcourse have clans you can join, different cities are ceatain clan territories.

  • This game’s budget could have been better spent on… literally anything. Anything besides the least necessary remake in the history of remakes.

  • Love the games… pre-ordered the original, the remaster, and Part II.

    But for this new “Part I”, I’ll wait for a price drop. Yeah, sure, it’s got prettier graphics and updated controls, but for £70 I’d need more… new locations, more story… nothing that changes the story (obviously), but things that add to it. A “director’s cut” kind of approach if you will.

    Sorry, but for me, this is in no way a £70 game. I appreciate that a fair bit of work has gone into it, but nothing like would have gone into creating the original. The story was there, already written; the locations were there, already designed; the dialogue was there; the performances were there. The graphics have been overhauled, and the controls have been revamped, but it wouldn’t have taken anything like as much time and effort as creating the original from scratch; all of the really difficult work was done 10+ years ago, and has already been sold to us twice. Yet you want to sell it to us again, and at something like a 40% higher price than the original. It feels like a milking approaching GTA V proportions.

    Had Part I launched at up to £50, I’d have bitten day one. As it is, I’ll wait until I can get it for somewhere around that price.

    • As I type this, judging from the majority of the comments made so far, it would seem that once again Sony has severely misjudged the reaction of its target audience. They seem to be making a habit of it this gen.

  • Looks good!

  • “Only on PlayStation” What a joke. What’s the point of even owning a PlayStation if all of their games are just coming to PC?

    • They don’t even care about us they have announced more for PC this year then PS5 I’m leaving this platform only picking up Ragnarok and letting my plus expire in November not supporting this any further

  • Yeah, so y’all need to go ahead and produce more of those Firefly Editions for pre-order.

  • I’m usually all for enhanced ports and remakes, but I don’t see anything about this that warrants a $70 purchase or higher. I’d be willing to pay maybe $10-$20 for the upgrade though.

  • I will buy this Masterpiece again! But I also look forward to the TLOU Series and hope Part 3 also comes sometime.

  • Never been fan of TLOU! Andd i never will be, Waste of time, same game same trophies/ but that artwork you done there is masterpiece! Only that is positive

  • Yeah we are DONE how do you actually sit there and announce a PC version and no multiplayer for £70 while we have been waiting for Factions 2 for 2 years ? God of war Ragnarok will be the last pennies you get off me I seriously regret purchasing a PS5 all you have done is announce PC releases and rip us off I couldn’t care less about PlayStation anymore now not going to bother you clearly only care about PC don’t even talk about PS5

    • Totally agree mate. We get charged 70 quid to fund pc ports. I stopped buying or pre ordering now only buy a game when it goes under the 49.99 mark.

  • So I have purchased the original ps3 game digitally and the remaster digitally. I can’t see myself purchasing this again. Definitely not at the price point they want

    • Yeah, this is just Sony thinking they can just do whatever they want. If it was half that price, MAYBE, but there’s no way I’m personally paying more than $15 for this when it comes to PC. I already own it on PS3 and got the complete edition on PS4 for cheap…

  • Wow. Too expensive.
    I’ve already had the remaster on PS4.
    I’m not paying full price again.
    So fed up of remasters. Reboots. Remakes.

    If this comes on Ps Plus Extra I’ll play it. Otherwise. No thanks. We’re not cash cows.

  • Sony where the marketing last of us pt1 drop september & pre order still no ragnarok trailer or realise date or pre order

  • It would have been much better if it had come for PS4 as well.

  • For some who has bought the game twice before and supported it from day one this is such a rip off. Kind of insulting too.. Also the new artwork focusing on Ellie is confusing, we play as Joel, its his story too.. let’s not forget the opening like. None of this makes sense , more corporate greed… forget fans from day one !!! :(

  • Every time a new game is announced broke and cheap losers have to complain about the prices as usual. What else is new? This remake will sell 2 – 3 million at full price in the first week easily.

  • Can’t wait for the new multiplayer to drop

  • The only way that it could be 90 bucks is that they remade multiplayer as well

  • Almost everybody wanted BLOODBORNE remake but
    Sony went ahead and made the remake NOBODY asked for

  • The issues with PlayStation Direct really goofed the announcement and Firefly Edition for everyone. The site broke while I had it in my cart, now it’s sold out and I can’t get it :(

  • $140 NZ?!? LOL!
    Greedy clowns!

  • Sorry not buying into these practices anymore. You put the prices up for games to £70 which I was happy to pay, because they were exclusives only on Playstation. Now you expect me to drop £70 on a game that’s not exclusive and has less content only to help fund the PC port where the game will get Pirated to hell like GoW did and GoT and Spiderman will. I will now buy all your games in sales or online sites where they are cheaper.

    • I am not going to buy EXCLUSIVES either. They will drop them at Plus Extra tier eventually. Why should I pay 70$ while PC gamers enjoy it for free.

  • I don’t mind paying an “upgrade” price for a game where I already owned the PS3 original and then got the Remaster on PS4, and now option to get complete Remake on PS5. I would appreciate some kind of discounted upgrade price for players that already owned either the PS3 or PS4 game (digitally).

  • It’s good that the PC release will come later. The PS5 console should always come first.

    • It’s not “good” it shouldn’t be coming to PC at all that’s why we tolerate paying year for a service I’m not renewing my plus subscription if we get no exclusives why would I they are charging for my internet

  • I just don’t get why it isn’t on PS4. If they did tlou2 on par perfectly then why isn’t it possible now too? I get that they want to “move on” and go PS5 releases only, but ur literally cutting ur player amount in half. It’s not that I don’t want to play this on PS5, it’s just that I can’t when it’s SOLD OUT EVERYWHERE

  • This remake should cost around $50. $70 is a joke. Its the 3rd release now. No one asked for this. It will probably sell well on PC. I personally made the choice that I wont be buying Sony games on release anymore. I don’t support the $70 price tag. I rather wait a year for it to go on sale.
    Sony games are still good but if you look closely they also have same style now. Almost reminds me of Ubisoft. Apply the same formula over and over again.

  • Вы серьезно ? Игра выходит только на PS5 ? И вы потом удивляетесь почему продажи консолей Xbox только растёт. Удивительно что на движке второй части игра не выходить на PS4, мне кажется это последняя капля, с таким отношением я уже задумываюсь купить консоль от Майкрософт …. Как вы могли забыть о том, что большая часть аудитории ещё играет на PS4 ? Да не могу я купить вашу новую консоль так как их просто нет в продаже… хороших продаж ))

  • Imma wait for the Remastered Remake Remaster. Make some NEW games lame-o!

  • It looks very good but it is a generation game that is still present and with backward compatibility on ps5 it looks very good there an update was better and that’s it. For me, the effort and time in a remake must be given in ips of yesteryear such as Jack and Daxter, mgs psx, sly Cooper, etc.

  • Looks great, Pricey entry price for a Remake that possibility looks and plays like Last of Us 2. having removed our beloved Multiplayer Mode (likely to avoided the headache dealing with PC cheaters, pains) doesn’t help. I own the PS4 version digitally and Physically which has Multiplayer anyways but I’ll get it because I did not get the Platinum yet and haven’t complete the hardest mode yet.

  • Any chance that Firefly Edition will come back in stock? Really wanted to snag one but was OOS right after I tried to get it yesterday…

  • Continuing to sell games at £70/$70 while making year-on-year record breaking net profits that we can all see on your company accounts? Shame on this company. I wouldn’t buy it, even if it had a VR mode.

    • Agree with you. Sony doing better than ever, but charge a full fucking 70 for a remake of a game that came out a few years ago? It’s the audacity that gets me

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