Neil Druckmann, VP of Naughty Dog, has confirmed that the version of New Order’s “True Faith” used in a recent trailer for The Last of Us Part II was inspired by another cover of the song by musician, Lotte Kestner. He explained the situation as an “oversight.”
Druckmann took to Twitter to say his apology, saying: “Due to an oversight on our end, she wasn’t credited as intended. Our deep apologies – we are rectifying this ASAP.”
Ellie's rendition of “True Faith” was inspired by Lotte Kestner's haunting cover of the song. Due to an oversight on our end, she wasn't credited as intended. Our deep apologies — we are rectifying this ASAP. We hope that @lottekestner receives the recognition she deserves.
— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) June 10, 2020
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When the trailer was released, Kestner took to her own social media to point out the similarities between her cover and the one used in the trailer, saying that it was a “replice” of her work and that she was not credited for it. She said in her post that she was “heartbroken” about it.
However, she has since deleted the post and even thanked Druckmann, Naughty Dog, and Sony for using her work.
So proud this music has found a home in such an amazing project. Thanks to Neil, Naughty Dog and everyone at Sony. https://t.co/FJ2r5Xgbgs
— Lotte Kestner (@lottekestner) June 10, 2020
What tipped her, and others, off to the influence of her cover was the use a hummed vocal segment, something that does not exist in the original version by New Order. It is something that Kestner’s version used for her version, and you can hear Ellie hum the exact same part in the trailer. However, it looks like everything has been patched up between the artist and the studio.
The Last of Us Part II, the sequel to the hit 2012 game, has seen its fair share of controversies after a good chunk of the game’s story was leaked by hackers using a error in coding to access the Naughty Dog servers. This caused a lot of debate in the fan community about the direction of the story, as well as the existence of spoilers in general.
The Last of Us Part II is set for released on June 19th.
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