Naughty Dog is a marquee first-party Sony studio, but it hasn’t released a new game for the PlayStation 5 yet. However, this might change soon.
Last year, the company’s co-founder, Neil Druckmann, hinted on Instagram that he’s working on an “unnannounced game” as its writer/director.
Fast forward to today, the documentary, Grounded II: Making The Last of Us Part II, confirms that Naughty Dog isn’t working on The Last of Us Part 3.
Near the end of the documentary, Neil Druckmann revealed that after several years, he has a concept for the next game in The Last of Us franchise. He adds that there could be at least one more chapter left for Naughty Dog to tell. Unfortunately, because it’s still a concept, the game isn’t expected to come out anytime soon.
What Naughty Dog is expected to do is announce its next game. While the specifics remain a mystery, the fact that it isn’t The Last of Us Part 3 suggests that it’s been cooking for a while.
Ironically, the documentary talked about how Naughty Dog has evolved to work on multiple projects over the years. This implies that the first-party Sony studio was working on several other games outside of the now-canceled multiplayer The Last of Us spin-off – which, as per the rumors, didn’t take up significant resources within the studio anyway.
If Naughty Dog is working on a new game, we can expect it to be a single-player, narrative-driven PlayStation-exclusive title that explores dark and mature themes.
Don’t think it’s Uncharted. Naughty Dog is finished with the globe-trotting adventures of Nathan Drake.
For now, audiences can only speculate about Naughty Dog’s next move in the video game industry. Outside of it, Druckmann has his hands full on the live-action adaptation, which didn’t fare so well at the Emmy Awards. Nevertheless, Season 2 will adapt the events of The Last of Us Part 2, with several castings already confirmed, including the actresses for Abby and Dina. The Last of Us Season 2 is expected to start filming soon with an Early 2025 premiere window.
