While there have been rumors about a secret project being in the works at Naughty Dog involving writer and director Shaun Escayg, a new report by industry insider NateTheHate indicates that it isn’t related to The Last of Us. The leaker noted that he has also learned a few minor details about the project, but they are “nothing I’m prepared to share at present.”
Escayg has worked at Naughty Dog for quite some time, serving as the writer and creative director for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. He was also the director for 2022’s The Last of Us Part 1.
Rumors about Escayg working on a new project started popping up earlier this year when he made a social media post that teased that the project in question could be related to Uncharted. On Instagram, he posted a picture of an old cannon on a wall overlooking a city by the sea. While this could also simply be a vacation photo, Escayg added further fuel to the fire by mentioning “Research…” in the caption.
Developers conducting research for their games by visiting places that serve as inspiration for the project’s setting isn’t new, and Escayg could have been teasing that this secret project at Naughty Dog could involve old cannons, walls, and seaside towns. The aesthetic also bears a striking resemblance to the kinds of places Uncharted protagonist Nathan Drake often likes to travel to.
Shortly after Escayg’s enigmatic social media post, Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson reported that he was “potentially doing new research into a new Uncharted 5 game.” He went on to note that Naughty Dog has “flirted with the idea” of making a brand-new mainline entry in the Uncharted franchise, and had seemingly even planned to make it before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world.
As for why Naughty Dog might be working on a new Uncharted game while it already has Intergalactic deep in development, Henderson brought up the fact that the industry at large has been looking at safer bets. As a result, new IPs aren’t as appealing to companies as new entries in long-running franchises would be.
“I think the issue that we run into now is Uncharted 5 is considered a safe bet, right? And that’s what we’re going to see from a lot of studios. It’s like Bungie with Marathon,” he said. “I think that’s got a long tail on it, and it is probably going to do okay, right? Like, I don’t think it’s going to shut down next week or whatever, but the next safe bet for them is Destiny 3, and the next safe bet for Naughty Dog is obviously The Last of Us Part 3 and Uncharted.”
The last mainline Uncharted game was released on PS4 in 2016 – Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. The title revolved around Nathan Drake getting pulled into a new series of adventures that also helped him deal with unresolved trauma from his childhood, while also having to deal with the responsibilities of his own family. The title is available on PC alongside 2017’s Uncharted: The Lost Legacy through the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection. Check out our review for more details.
