When the infection begins, just a day or two in people become Runners and still look like themselves. The major stages of the Cordyceps Brain Infection stayed consistent between The Last of Us and The Last of Us 2. RELATED: Joel's Growth in The Last of Us Explained Evolution also takes time, so it might not be the most realistic expectation for The Last of Us 3. For viruses, evolution tends to happen when something like a vaccine forces it to change, and thus mutations become positive traits that prolong survival. Evolution is driven by necessity, with those best suited for the environment surviving and passing on their traits.

The basic reason why the Infected likely won't evolve much in The Last of Us 3 is that they don't need to.

That's probably not going to change in the next game. The Last of Us 2 shook things up with the Infected to create more diverse and frightening enemies, but players have yet to see any major changes. There aren't a lot of certain things about The Last of Us 3, but assuming it is in the works, the one thing players can count on is more Infected. The Last of Us 3 hasn't been officially announced, but fans are eager to see what's coming next for Ellie based on the ambiguous ending of the most recent installment.

The last of us infected