The term “Dieselpunk fantasy” sounds just like the madeup sci-fi genre that only a developer known for crazy ideas like Naughty Dog would try to venture in, and if we believe the rumors, it’s what its next game will be all about.
The internet describes Dieselpunk as a “genre that blends the aesthetics of the diesel-based technology of the interwar period through to the 1950s with retro-futuristic technology and postmodern sensibilities”, with common examples in the video game industry being BioShock, Dishonored, and Final Fantasy 7.
With such esteemed titles using a similar setting, Naughty Dog definitely appears to have its work cut out for it.
The Last of Us’ creators (who you might also know for creating Uncharted, among others) haven’t had the busiest slate lately. After being the darling of the PlayStation brand for most of the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 generation, the Neil Druckmann-led studio has taken a backseat Santa Monica Studio, Guerilla Games, and most especially, Insomniac Games, since the PlayStation 5 came out. In fact, the award-winning developer’s only recent releases are Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection and The Last of Us Part 1, the latter of which was criticized as a quick cash grab despite being a faithful re-release before eventually getting a PC port that didn’t turn out as well as it hoped.
But, it’s been known for a while that Naughty Dog has been working on a fantasy game – and The Last of Us Part 3, if you believe all the teases – which leads us to this rumor.
According to u/u/OOO_Katai_OOO3 on Reddit, Naughty Dog’s “Dieselpunk Fantasy” game is coming out in late 2025 and it will be an narrative-driven action adventure title with an open world setting. The leaker adds that the game will feature procedural dungeons, specifically “procedural labyrinths” made from “ancient submerged cities” that “emerge from the black sea.” Codenamed as “Paradox”, this game will supposedly also feature the working project title as its main weapons, which the source is describing as “rare artifacts with powers that violate the laws of reality.”
Finally, the post goes on to describe a story that sees “2 thieving brothers who have the mission of escorting a girl” in what we can only describe as a plot that looks like a mishmash between Uncharted and The Last of Us Part 1 with a BioShock-like setting.
While the internet would love to see Naughty Dog release something – anything, really – this probably isn’t what it has been working on. Aside from the since-taken down AI generated “art” for the game, the leaker claims that the project started development in 2021 and it will not have multiplayer.
There are two things wrong with this statement. For one, four years is a relatively short time for a current-gen game by Naughty Dog, especially when you consider that it supposedly started development just as the world was still dealing with a global pandemic. Don’t forget that The Last of Us Part 2 took Naughty Dog over seven years and $220 million to make and this was before AAA projects reportedly started costing over a billion.
Between the crunch culture-averse world that we’re living in, Sony’s ambitious live-service plans – that’s crumbling as we speak, with Bungie being affected by layoffs – and the studio’s now-canceled multiplayer live-service title, there’s no way Naughty Dog will be releasing its next game as early as late 2025.
While Naughty Dog hasn’t had anything new to show for the PlayStation 5 as of late, it’s currently involved in a handful of different projects, including the multiplayer The Last of Us spin-off, which officially has only been delayed and hasn’t been canceled. The last we heard, Druckmann is still working with Craig Mazin on multiple new seasons of The Last of Us on HBO, a show that’s already racking up award nominations. Finally, even though it’s not a new entry, The Last of Us Part 2 is believed to be coming to the PlayStation 5 and the PC.
Despite Sony’s still-unconfirmed backtracking on its live-service plans, it’s enjoying one of its best years yet, starting with the PS5’s record-setting quarter earlier this year. The PS5 is on track to outsell every other console this entire year and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 just set a new sales record. With the PS5 Slim coming out in November, things aren’t as bad as they seem for the blue team.
