Ellie is 19 for the main events of The Last of Us Part II, a figure confirmed by Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann, and Joel is somewhere in his mid-50s, a number the studio has never pinned down in a single official line. Below we cover where Ellie’s age comes from, the two ways Joel’s age can be worked out and why they disagree, how the flashbacks change both ages, and what the Remastered and PC releases changed (nothing, story-wise).
Ellie’s Age: Confirmed at 19
Ellie’s age in Part II is one of the few character ages Naughty Dog has stated outright. When the studio revealed Part II gameplay on the PlayStation Blog in June 2018, Druckmann wrote that “Ellie is now 19 and has found a semblance of peace and normality living in Jackson.”
That lines up with the first game. In The Last of Us, Ellie is 14 when Joel and Tess are hired to smuggle her out of Boston, and PlayStation’s official description of Part II sets the story “five years after their dangerous journey” across the country. Fourteen plus five gives you the 19-year-old you control in Jackson and Seattle.
Ellie is not 19 in every scene, though. Part II leans heavily on flashbacks, including a birthday trip Joel takes her on to a museum and several scenes set in the years between the two games. In those sequences she is younger, somewhere in her mid to late teens, and the game signals each jump with a time label rather than an exact age. The epilogue takes place some time after Seattle, so Ellie is likely a little older there, but Naughty Dog has not published an age for that section.
Joel’s Age: Why There Is No Single Number
Joel’s age is a common place for confident answers with no source behind them. Naughty Dog has never published a line like “Joel is 55 in Part II”, so the answer has to be worked out, and there are two starting points that do not agree.
The original 2013 descriptions. Around the first game’s launch, press coverage based on Naughty Dog’s own material described Joel as a man “in his late forties” during the main 2033 story. Add the five-year gap and Joel lands in his early to mid-50s in Part II.
The Part I remake. Reporting on The Last of Us Part I (the 2022 remake) says in-game details list Joel’s birth year as 1981. If that is accurate, he was in his early 30s when the outbreak hit in the prologue, early 50s during the first game, and about 56 or 57 by Part II.
Both routes put Joel somewhere between his early and late 50s, which is why we describe him as “mid-50s” rather than repeating a precise number.
What the game does make clear is the gap: Joel is more than 30 years older than Ellie, old enough that the father-daughter framing is literal in all but blood. That matters to the story, because Part II is largely about a surrogate daughter trying to make sense of what her surrogate father did for her.
Why Their Ages Matter to the Story
Part II’s structure depends on Ellie being an adult rather than a teenager. At 14 she had no say in Joel’s decision at the hospital in Salt Lake City. At 19 she has found out what he did, and the flashbacks show her working through whether she can forgive him. Her choices in Seattle are an adult’s choices, which is exactly why the game holds her responsible for them.
Joel, meanwhile, is written as a man past his prime who has finally settled into a community in Jackson with his brother Tommy. His age is part of why the early events land the way they do: he is no longer the hardened smuggler of the first game, and the game makes a point of showing how much he has softened.
If you are coming to the games from the HBO series, note that the show sets its own ages and timeline and recast its leads accordingly. Numbers quoted for the television characters do not map neatly onto the game, so treat any age you see in show coverage as a show fact, not a game fact.
Did the Remastered or PC Versions Change Anything
No. The Last of Us Part II Remastered launched on PS5 in January 2024 and on PC in April 2025, and neither release altered the story. The additions are modes and extras: the No Return roguelike mode, three Lost Levels from early development, Guitar Free Play, and developer commentary on the cinematics. The commentary is worth switching on if you want the writers and cast on the characters, scene by scene.
If you are deciding whether to start a replay, our guide to how long The Last of Us 2 takes to beat breaks down the campaign, completionist and No Return times. The original game also features in our list of the best PS3 games of all time, and if you bought the PS5 upgrade by mistake, here is how to refund a game on PS5.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Ellie in The Last of Us Part II? Ellie is 19 during the main story, as confirmed by Neil Druckmann on the PlayStation Blog. She is younger in the flashback sequences set between the two games.
How old is Joel in The Last of Us Part II? Naughty Dog has never given an exact figure. Working from the studio’s original “late forties” description he is in his early to mid-50s, and working from the birth year reportedly shown in the Part I remake he is about 56 or 57.
How many years pass between The Last of Us and Part II? Five, per PlayStation’s official description of the game. The first game’s main story is set in 2033, so Part II’s main events fall around 2038.
How old was Ellie in the first game? Fourteen. Her age in the first game is part of why Joel’s choice at the hospital was made without her input, which Part II returns to.
Do the ages differ in the HBO show? Yes. The series uses its own timeline and casting, so ages quoted for the show should not be used to answer questions about the game.