“I really appreciate the way [the song] was used, especially bringing Joel and Ellie together… “

At The Game Awards 2020, multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder performed a live rendition of “Future Days”, a track that appears in the action-adventure game The Last of Us Part II.

To present the musician’s live performance (embedded below), voice actor Troy Baker (The Last of Us Part II and Marvel’s Avengers) recounted how a conversation about fatherhood with Neil Druckmann revealed the importance of the song to the Naughty Dog writer and director.

“Future Days” is the closing track on Pearl Jam’s 2013 album Lightning Bolt.

After the acoustic performance, Vedder shared a few words to express his appreciation for the game’s inclusion of the song, in particularly, how it was used to connect two characters.

“Alright, so that was the song “Future Days” and that song you might recognise from The Last of Us,” he said. “I really appreciate the way that was used, especially bringing Joel and Ellie together – connecting through music – and I thought maybe it was cool too that made you want to perhaps pick up a guitar yourself and write a song for your loved one.

“It is nice to be part of this… and show my appreciation and be a part of this year’s Game Awards. What a fascinating way to tell a story. It’s just getting better and better all the time and it was cool to be a part of it,” he added.

The Last of Us Part II performed very well at this year’s award show, picking up wins in multiple categories including ‘Best Audio Design’, ‘Best Game Direction’, ‘Best Narrative’, ‘Innovation in Accessibility’, ‘Best Action/Adventure’, and ‘Game of the Year’.

Voice actress Laura Bailey also won the ‘Best Performance’ award for her portrayal of Abby in The Last of Us Part II.

The full list of winners at The Game Awards 2020 can be found here.