Naughty Dog confirms its next game has been decided

Naughty Dog chief Neil Druckmann has confirmed that the studio's next game has been decided, but what could it be?

Following the release of The Last of Us Part II for PS4 in 2019, it would be a natural assumption to make that Naughty Dog’s next entry would complete the trilogy. We, of course, had the 2022 Part I remake on PS5, but that was no continuation of the story. Some fans are speculating that The Last of Us Part III is already in development and that it will be released for the PS6. That being said, until Naughty Dog confirms otherwise, we should take rumours and speculation with a pinch of salt.

The Last of Us Part I launches on PC on 28 March.

However, while we speculate what Naughty Dog’s next game will be (post-standalone The Last of Us multiplayer game), Neil Druckmann has all but confirmed that production is underway on something. When speaking on The Last of Us Spoilercast with Kinda Funny, Druckmann was asked if the studio's next game will be The Last of Us Part III. “I am very lucky that I don’t have to think like that, I joined a studio that was already so successful that we could be primadonna and just do whatever we want,” explained Druckmann.

He continued: “I know not everyone has the privilege but it’s not something I take lightly though at the end of every project we purposefully explore several different projects. Some of them might be a sequel and a bunch of new ideas.” Druckmann then addressed eager fans who are wanting to see the third mainline entry. “I know the fans really want The Last of Us Part III,” he continued. “I hear about it all the time and all I can say is that we’re already into our next project so the decision has already been made, I can’t say what it is but that’s the process we went through. There was a lot of consideration about different things and we picked the thing we are most excited for.”

For all we could know, Naughty Dog’s next game might not be The Last of Us Part III. Instead, we could finally get an overdue Uncharted game. Not taking into account 2022's Legacy of Thieves Collection, the last proper Uncharted games were Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End in 2016, followed by The Lost Legacy in 2017, both for PS4. There has been talk of Naughty Dog being done with the Uncharted series, but I’m not entirely sure that I believe that or at least want to. It’s quite baffling to think that the PlayStation 5 hasn't had a new Uncharted game. So whether it's Nathan Drake or Chloe Frazier leading the way, the Uncharted series deserves a new entry before this generation is over.