Gaming: The Last of Us gets its own podcast; Destiny 2 maps out the next 3 years

With all the buzz surrounding The Last of Us Part II, as well as the upcoming HBO series set in Naughty Dog's post-apocalyptic world, there's so much to unpack beyond the game itself that it'd be kind of nice if fans could peek behind the curtain and see what drives the creative team.

Fortunately, that's just what Naughty Dog has in mind with the launch of a new weekly podcast devoted to giving fans a behind-the-scenes looks at the franchise. The official The Last of Us podcast debuted its first episode this week, bringing in creative director Neil Druckmann and voice actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who kicked things off by taking a look back at the groundbreaking 2013 PS3 original.

Hosted by comedian Christian Spicer, each episode will welcome "an evolving lineup of guests," as Spicer explained at the PlayStation Blog, "including various members of the development team, composer Gustavo Santaolalla, other notable fans of the game, and cast members." Beginning July 7, the series will begin taking deep dives into the hugely anticipated sequel, which players will definitely be ready to talk about in the wake of the game's release next week.

Tune in each Tuesday to catch new insights straight from the folks who bring The Last of Us to life, and catch up on past episodes by heading over to the podcast's landing page. The Last of Us Part II arrives (at last!) — for PlayStation 4 on June 19.

Bungie just laid out its roadmap for the next three years of content for Destiny 2, and it's about time — literally. Coming this fall, players will head to the icy Jovian moon of Europa equipped with a new time-manipulating power in Beyond Light, the game's third major expansion.

Beginning its digital reveal event this week with a somber 8:46-long pause of silence to reflect on the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minnesota, Bungie went on to unveil new features and the beginnings of a new storyline for the upcoming expansion. Beyond Light will take players, along with the Drifter, Eris Morn, and the Exo Stranger, to Jupiter's ice-bound moon, where a new time-altering ability called Stasis awaits.

A new energy that appears to be the next step in the game's lineup of previously-introduced elemental powers (Arc, Solar, and Void), Stasis will draw its power from the Darkness to let you take on a new main foe — a Fallen leader named Eramis.

Before Beyond Light arrives, the game's current season is bringing a ton of new content (including a surprise new dungeon) that'll transition the story toward your date with Europa. Looking farther ahead, Bungie also revealed the names of the expansions we'll be getting after this year: The Witch Queen, coming in 2021, followed by Lightfall in 2022.

Best of all, current PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players will get the expansion as a free upgrade for next-gen consoles when the PS5 and Xbox Series X debut later this year, with full support for cross-gen play. Bungie's promising more details about Beyond Light in the weeks to come, with the expansion itself arriving on Sept. 22.