Okay, so there I was, trying to enjoy my morning coffee, when I stumbled upon this chat with Neil Druckmann, y’know, from Naughty Dog. He was on this podcast, Press X to Continue—ever heard of it? Anyway, he casually mentions he’s like, taking a backseat on a new game project. Kind of like being the cool uncle who’s not really in charge but still hanging around giving advice. I guess it keeps things spicy for him or whatever. Honestly, being in that room must be a trip.
Now, Druckmann is usually the big shot Creative Director on stuff like The Last of Us (masterpieces, am I right?) but now he’s sorta stepping back. Big studios like Naughty Dog seem to be juggling games all the time, so I guess this isn’t too shocking. Apparently, they were working on a multiplayer thing for The Last of Us but, surprise, it got canned in 2023.
I can’t help but wonder if this new gig involves digging up one of their old classics. Hello, Crash Bandicoot? Jax and Dexter? Or gasp Uncharted? Seriously, could Uncharted 5 be creeping up on us?
Think about it. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End seemed to pack away Nathan Drake’s adventures, but there’s Cassie, his and Elena’s kid, right there in the epilogue. And did you know Kaitlyn Dever—who was Cassie—now plays Abby in The Last of Us Season 2? Talk about range.
Then there was this 2023 PS5 ad that everyone went nuts over, showing some young woman (maybe Cassie?) doing some Lara Croft-style exploring. Plus, there were job listings for a mystery project Naughty Dog’s supposedly co-developing with another studio. Makes you think, doesn’t it?
But you know what? We might end up in suspense city for ages before Naughty Dog spills the beans. Some games never even make it past the drawing board. So yeah, who knows what’s really cooking over there.
