After several leaks and rumors, Naughty Dog finally confirmed that The Last of Us Part 2 is getting a PlayStation 5 remaster. The $10 upgrade for existing owners brings a boatload of new features to the sequel, although the verdict is still out on whether or not the graphical jump will be noticeable. And, while fans continue to debate the necessity of a remaster, a subsequent report claims that work on Naughty Dog’s new single-player game is being spearheaded by Neil Druckmann and his team.
Naughty Dog confirmed earlier this year that it’s working on a new single-player game. At the time, it couldn’t reveal if Neil Druckmann was working on it or if someone else was spearheading the project.
Now, VGC’s Jordan Middler claims that a team of fresh hires is working on the remaster because “Druckmann’s team is full steam ahead on an original.” Middler adds that the projects don’t take away from each other, although there’s genuine reason for concern following the studio’s most recent set of layoffs.
The earlier announcement doesn’t make it clear if this new single-player experience will be taking place in The Last of Us universe, but Middler’s words confirm that it’s an “original.”
Unfortunately, given Naughty Dog’s penchant for keeping its cards close to its chest, we might not hear about it until much later on.
Naughty Dog is currently working on several projects at the moment. The only confirmed ones are The Last of Us Part II Remastered, which will release in early 2024, the multiplayer spin-off set in The Last of Us Universe, and the brand new IP we just mentioned. It’s unclear if The Last of Us Part III is in the pipeline although Druckmann doesn’t seem afraid to tease it.
Naughty Dog hasn’t released a new game in a long while. Its latest new title was The Last of Us Part II, which received stellar reviews in 2020. Since then, it has released remasters and PC ports of Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection and The Last of Us Part 1. However, Sony has tapped both Uncharted and The Last of Us for live-action adaptations to mixed success. The former received so-so reviews from critics but was apparently big enough of a hit at the global box office to warrant a sequel. On the other hand, the latter is a critical darling and one of the best shows to come out on TV in years, often compared to the likes of Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, among others.
At the end of the day, the internet needs to stop hounding Naughty Dog and leave it alone. The studio has built a solid reputation for top-quality narrative experiences, even though the more recent outings have been more of an unoptimized mess.
Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin are working on The Last of Us Season 2 on HBO with filming resuming in early 2024.
