Uncharted 5 is once again looking like a real possibility, although it not be Naughty Dog who revives Nathan Drake and the gang. The not-so-secret SIE San Diego Studio established by Sony is working on existing franchises, according to the LinkedIn profile of Michael Mumbauer, a former studio head/senior director of visual arts at PlayStation World Wide Studios.
Here's the full description featured on Mumbauer's profile, which seems to drop some pretty exciting hints as to what might be on the way from the secretive studio:
"His latest achievement is having built a brand new, all-star, AAA Action/Adventure development team for PlayStation. Based in San Diego and utilizing proprietary engine technology, this team was assembled to expand upon existing franchises and craft all new stories for the next generation of gamers."
While there's nothing here to explicitly suggest Uncharted 5, it's been widely believed for some time that this is what the San Diego Studio has been assembling. San Diego Studio has been recruiting a number of Naughty Dog alumni since January 2019, including developers who had major involvement on The Last Of Us and Uncharted 4.
Advert
Sony is also on the hunt for talent to join the company's recently established Malaysian first-party studio. The idea behind this studio is that it will be able to support some of the company's other first-party teams on their major projects, including Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studio, and San Diego Studio.
Late last year this new studio put out a call for a cinematic and in-game animator to help out with one of PlayStation's most "well-known and well-loved franchises". The Uncharted series certainly fits that bill, no?
"We are looking for talented, highly-motivated, and creative animators to breathe life into the next chapter of cinematic storytelling," the job advertisement read. Fans believe that this studio will be assisting the San Diego team on its mystery project.
Advert
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End launched for PlayStation 4 all the way back in 2016, providing a fitting coda to the adventures of Nathan Drake. In this industry no franchise can ever truly be gone forever though, and I think it's safe to assume that Uncharted will absolutely be coming back for an outing or two on the PlayStation 5. Whether it does so with Nolan North's Nathan Drake remains to be seen, but the excellent Uncharted: The Lost Legacy spinoff proves the series has legs even without its star player.
Topics: GAMING, News, PlayStation, Uncharted, Naughty Dog