How Old Is Abby in The Last of Us 2? Game and HBO Series Age Breakdown

Abby’s Age in The Last of Us Part II: Game Details and Timeline

If you’ve played The Last of Us Part II, you’ve probably wondered exactly how old Abby Anderson is supposed to be. The game’s artists and writers haven’t left too much to guesswork. The official artbook, The Art of The Last of Us Part II, straight up confirms Abby is in her early 20s during the main events of the sequel. This fits right into the timeline—Ellie is 19, and Abby is a few years older, which you can pick up on from their interactions and flashbacks.

Here’s how it breaks down: At the end of the first game, Abby is in her mid-teens when she loses her father at Joel’s hands. There’s a four-year gap after that, and during this time, she grows into the tough, driven woman we meet in Part II. So if Abby was about 16 or 17 when Joel did what he did, it would make her around 21 or 22 for most of the second game’s story. That’s not just a rough guess—the game’s official concept art and narrative structure support this number. It puts her at an age where her physical prowess and emotional complexity make sense, considering all she goes through.

Kaitlin Dever as Abby in the HBO Series: Age Uncertainties

The TV adaptation of The Last of Us is just as deliberate in its casting choices. Kaitlin Dever is stepping into Abby’s heavy boots for the second season of HBO’s acclaimed series. Dever herself is 28, but casting older actors for young adult roles is nothing new in TV land. Still, HBO hasn’t officially told us how old Abby will be on screen. The series might stick to the game’s script and keep Abby as a young adult in her early 20s, or they might play with the timeline a bit. No one outside of the writers’ room knows for sure.

Why does this matter? Viewers who fell in love—or love to hate—Abby’s role in the game tend to care about these small details because it affects how the story hits. In Part II, Abby’s motivations are deeply tied to the trauma from her teenage years and how that pain matures over four years of harsh living. Whether HBO’s Abby ends up being the exact same age as Naughty Dog intended, or if her journey changes, her story is still rooted in lost youth, revenge, and growing up too fast.

Kaitlin Dever is expected to deliver a take on Abby that matches the physical and emotional intensity from the game, regardless of whether the character’s age shifts slightly for TV. Until the next season airs, fans are sure to keep speculating, comparing, and debating whether game canon or TV canon should rule the Abby Anderson timeline.