The Last of Us and Red Dead Redemption 2 Animator Joins Sony’s New Studio

Less than a month ago, we reported that Sony had set up a new development team in San Diego that was hiring people to work on a new unannounced story-centric AAA project. Today, we have an update on that front- the studio has attracted some top bill talent to join its team, who has a pretty good track record.

James Martinchek, who most recently worked as an animator on Red Dead Redemption 2, and has worked with Sony quite extensively in the past on projects such as The Last of Us and Uncharted 4, has joined the new San Diego development team as their new Lead Animator. This news came via Quentin Cobb on Twitter, who is a Senior Game Designer at the studio, and, incidentally, has also worked with Martincheck in the past at Naughty Dog on The Last of Us and Uncharted 4.

The existence of the new studio and the fact that they’re working on something big has been known – unofficially – for a while, but it doesn’t seem Sony is ready to unveil either of them yet in an official capacity. When asked by a fan when the new studio and the game they’re working on will be announced, Cobb simple said, “the future.”

That said, there’s been plenty of speculation that the project that they are working on is an Uncharted game. There is nothing concrete that suggests that, but in the aforementioned report from last month, multiple mentions of the game being a cinematic, narrative-driven experience surely pointed in that direction, while now, the fact that people that have been associated with Naughty Dog and Uncharted are joining the studio should also add to that.

Either way, we’re not gonna find out anytime soon. When we do, though, we’ll let you know, so stay tuned.

I'm happy to welcome my good friend James Martinchek to the team as our new Lead Animator! We worked together on The Last of Us and Uncharted 4 back in our Naughty Dog days and he just finished working on Red Dead 2! #Playstation pic.twitter.com/wlf8wgco8d

— Quentin Cobb (@QTrainCobb) January 22, 2019