For over a decade, nearly every single new game Naughty Dog has developed has been an unabashed masterpiece in its own right, and the studio has only been growing increasingly masterful in its craft as time goes on. It’s no surprise, then, that there’s always eyes on Naughty Dog and what it’ll be doing next- and it seems we may have been given a very tiny glimpse of what that will be.
The Last of Us Part 1 launched last week for the PS5, and interestingly, it seems players have discovered clues pointing to a new Naughty Dog IP. As reported by @NaughtyNDC on Twitter, players have found posters hanging on the walls in the remake bearing some interesting art, showing a female warrior and a number of fantasy elements, with speculation that the developer could be dropping hints for its next IP gathering steam. Check out the images below.
Of course, you don’t need to cast your mind back too far to know that Naughty Dog has pulled something like this in the past. Prior to its announcement, the original The Last of Us was teased with an inconspicuous teaser found in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception.
Whether or not there really is a new IP is something we can only guess at at this point. For what it’s worth, around the time The Last of Us Part 2 launched, creative director and Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann said that the studio could move on to a new IP next. A story outline for The Last of Us Part 3 is ready though, so that’s a likely candidate as well.
Either way, Druckmann confirmed in June that his next project as creative director, whatever that turns out to be, is in development– though at the time, he said it was still too early to talk about it.
Of course, earlier this year, it was confirmed that Naughty Dog has a number of new games in development. At the time, The Last of Us Part 1 was included in that, while the studio’s large-scale standalone multiplayer The Last of Us title is also in the works.
Fans are speculating that art in TLOU1 are indicative of Naughty Dog's new IP. Seemingly would be a fantasy setting.
what do you think? pic.twitter.com/IV9tZZqULW
— Naughty Dog Central (@NaughtyNDC) September 5, 2022
