It’s been three and a half years since Naughty Dog’s last major release, and though the developer has released The Last of Us Part 1 since then (and is set to launch The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered soon), questions surrounding what the studio’s next new flagship release will be have been growing louder. And it seems a developer working at the studio may have spilled the beans on that- to some degree, at least.
As spotted by a user on Reddit, the LinkedIn profile of illuminator and story artist Colin Lorimer states in its “about” section that he is “currently helping develop Naughty Dog’s latest IP”, while an “untitled project” is also listed among the things he has worked at for Naughty Dog in his profile’s “experience” section.
In both instances, work on the now-cancelled The Last of Us Online is also mentioned. As per his profile, Lorimer has been at Naughty Dog since 2021, during which time he has also served as story artist on HBO’s The Last of Us.
There’s been speculation about a new IP being in the works at Naughty Dog for a while now. When The Last of Us Part 1 launched for PS5 in 2022, players found concept art in the game that many speculated was teasing new in-development fantasy IP. That said, leaks have also repeatedly claimed that The Last of Us Part 3 is currently in development at the studio.
Of course, Naughty Dog revealed last month that it was working on “more than one ambitious, brand new” single player game”, so there’s a chance that the studio has both The Last of Us Part 3 and a new IP in the works.