Many believe a return to the Uncharted series could be on the way.
Naughty Dog, the studio behind the acclaimed Uncharted and The Last of Us series, is reportedly working on a brand new project in a "beloved franchise". The news comes from a recent job listing for Sony's new internal San Diego studio, which are currently seeking to hire a new Game Design Intern for the 'AAA' title.
The job listing states that PlayStation's San Diego studio is currently "co-developing an exciting new project with Naughty Dog in a beloved franchise". Although simply speculation, given that The Last of Us: Part 1 recently received a complete remake, many believe that the "beloved franchise" could be related to Uncharted.
As reported by VGC, the newly found Sony studio was created in partnership with PSS Visual Arts, a studio experienced in motion capture and cinematics, and one whose contributions were invaluable to The Last of Us franchise, most notably with the latest Part 1 Remake. Christina-Marie, a recruiter at Naughty Dog, has previously hinted via a LinkedIn post that the studio is not only moving towards new titles but is also keeping the legacy of Uncharted in mind as they push forward, further intensifying the speculations about the new project being related to Uncharted in some capacity.
A job listing from 2022 by Neil Druckmann, Naughty Dog's Co-President, also suggested there are at least 3 projects in development at the studio, one of which was revealed to be The Last of Us: Part 1. A report by Bloomberg last year also revealed that an Uncharted remake was originally planned, but it was later scrapped in favor of a remake of The Last of Us, as it reportedly required less design work, time and money.
Naughty Dog has also confirmed that the studio is currently working on The Last of Us multiplayer experience, which Neil Druckmann defined in the previous Summer Game Fest as an equal experience to any of their single-player games, and that it has a story of its own. This current phase may also establish a solid ground for the return of Uncharted as an experience that also supported multiplayer game modes in the past, and pave the way for its return after multiplayer was removed in recent PC and PlayStation 5 ports.
Mohamed from Egypt has been covering Japanese and Indie games for more than 5 years for Local and International Outlets. He is very interested in the Japanese language and culture and how they are expressed in games and their stories. Also a Long term fan of JRPGs, Indie games and VIsual Novels.