Naughty Dog Moving On From Uncharted; The Last of Us 3 Only Be Made If There Is "Compelling Story"

Naughty Dog boss Neil Druckmann has revealed that the Uncharted franchise is finished, and TLOU3 is dependent on a "compelling story."

[-Foxtrot]

I hope they move on and give us a new IP

Maybe something Sci-Fi or Fantasy

[porkChop]

I'd be down for Savage Starlight. Naughty Dog making a sci fi action RPG would be interesting.

[tay8701]

Yes savage starlight would be amazing. I know that was the rumor a couple yrs ago. Naughty dog likes to put Easter eggs in their games. There is that rumor about strays cross. I'm looking forward to a new ip, hopefully it is Sci fi related.

[Lighter9]

You beat me to it.

[EvertonFC]

The clock shop in the 1st episode of the HBO series was called "lone star" I wonder if it's an Easter egg ? Bit weird a clock shop being called that imo?

[millerj2740]

Joel and Sarah live in Texas, the "Lone Star" state. Not really an easter egg.

[Jin_Sakai]

What exactly are have they been working on if they’ve moved on from Uncharted and The Last of Us? I know Factions is a separate team.

[-Foxtrot]

Well Factions is still going by one team, the other? Who knows, I refuse to believe they've been spit balling for almost 3 years now.

I'd say Sci-Fi hopefully

[senorfartcushion]

Games as a service multiplayer title

[tay8701]

All just rumor at the moment but, it is said there will be two protagonist: one being a brilliant scientist obsessed with space-time studies, the other being a "criminal" who is innocent. All of this supposedly ties into to some story about a space conflict dating back ages. Again could be just bunch of B.S. rumors, but I'd love to see what the wizards at naughty dog could do with a space themed ip

[porkChop]

@Senor

I mean if they were gonna do GAAS that would probably be Factions, no? I don't see them making two multiplayer-focused games at the same time.

[Lightning77]

Apparently if the team was really passionate about The Last Of Us Part 3 then they'll 100% go for it. ND doesn't do things unless passion is backed by it.

Neil was writing scripts in which I thought it was for TLOUS 3. Maybe him and the team are brain storming and writing in theory what another Last Of Us could be like.

Not sure what the team is cooking up. I'll keep on the look out for rumors of course.

[blackblades]

Rumor long time ago it was a sci-fi space action adventure i believe. Also wasnt there 2 teams at naughty dog, the last of us team who is working on the MP i guess and the other one after they done uncharted 4 and standalone forgot name.

[senorfartcushion]

Will be shipped to the games as a service mines next.

These quotes are very see-though. No studio wants an Uncharted/Last of Us-style experience. They, along with God of War and Ghost of Tsushima feel more like a pain in Sony execs’ asses than anything.

Just think, with this news, the ps5 version of Uncharted 4 and Legacy is the last release we are ever going to get. Uncharted won’t ever have Raytracing.

[Flawlessmic]

Lol Ur comment is so confusing, what are you even trying to say.

And I'd take a new ip over uncharted with ray tracing.

Uncharted had an awesome run but it's time for new ips.

[tay8701]

Not sure what you are trying to say or if you are quoting someone else. Are you saying that g.o.t., g.o.w. and uncharted are pains in the ass for Sony execs? G.o.w. 2018 sold 20 million copies, uncharted 4 has over 15 million and g.o.t. has sold over 9.5 million copies, doesn't sound like a pain in the ass, more line a Sony execs wet dream. Lol. As far as not ever getting an uncharted game with Ray tracing, i wouldn't be so sure. Rumor is that naughty dog is partnering with a newly founded ps studio comprised of Sony visual arts studio devs (worked on last of us part 1) to reboot the franchise.

[Bathyj]

Are you having a senior moment?

[Christopher]

Yeah, multi-million selling games are always a pain for executives to deal with.

[Lightning77]

ND aren't even known for live service games nor will they ever be interested in doing anything like that. They're known for their story telling and gameplay. Why would they sacrifice a possible new IP that's story driven than waste it on some live service stuff?

Plus one team is doing just that already. Your life service fix is covered.

[senorfartcushion]

To clarity on the comment:

Yeah, the PlayStation exclusives listed are incredibly successful but that’s irrelevant because they don’t want GOTY success stories that sell 20 million copies, they want “Fortnite trailer starring Mark Hamill speaking Chinese during the Super Bowl” success.

You don’t get that every studio just wants to make mobile games. Any excuse for there to NOT be single player, they will take it. All ND are saying now is that they don’t want to make anything like their past games, and their past games are single player.

Even if they were to embrace single player, it would be an open world Genshin clone.

They’re the goals of every studio. It doesn’t matter what anyone says. Even if the market prevents them from embracing GAAS in full right away, it’s still the goal.

It doesn’t matter how many awards the previous games get, it doesn’t matter how much they sell. They don’t make EVERY CENT.

That’s the point.

Naughty Dog’s next game is a live service multiplayer game. All Neil Druckmann does is write cinematic adventures but he’s been interviewing about how he doesn’t want a “conventional” narrative in his games anymore - and it’s not because of boredom.

[TheKingKratos]

They said they are workinf on new ip

[senorfartcushion]

There are rumours of a sci-fi game possibly? Then again, Last of Us is Sci-fi too

[1Victor]

I trust on ND to put a excellent game and will play it as long as it’s not a too deep on RPG or is a FPS( unless it’s VR FPS then I’ll try it ) for personal taste reasons on rpg and motion sickness on fps( vr fps is a bit more tolerable for my eyes tho 🤷🏿 )

[F0XH0UND922]

They will be doing both. Part 3 as a follow up to the most awarded game in history and now in tandem with the most watched show on the planet. Part 3 is inevitable, thankfully.

A new ip is most likely in the works, as well.

[Flewid638]

Sci-Fi > Fantasy

[spicelicka]

Exactly what I came to comment.

[_Decadent_Descent]

After they give us TLOU 3 definitely.

[Retroman]

Or Jax and Daxter 4

[RaidenBlack]

New IP, plz
hope the rumor/leak regarding the sci-fi project is real

[shinoff2183]

Please be true.

[phoenixwing]

I'd like to see medieval game myself but sci-fi is ok too

[shinoff2183]

Phoenixville

It's just what I wanna see. I sometimes feel we get enough medieval games, but I'm also big into Sci fi so I'm probably just a hair bias.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

All good things must come to an end. looking forward to their next IP.

[Elda]

Hopefully they're developing something entirely new.

[Sarcasm]

Don't need a TLOU3. Make something new instead

[Grilla]

They will make 3. Especially if the show does well.

[spicelicka]

I think you are right. The way the sales jumped for TLOU part 1 after the show aired must have been a clear signal to Sony to not hold back.

[savedsynner]

Haha, we didn't need part 2 lol

[Flawlessmic]

Wooooo new ips from the best in the business!!!!

[andy85]

It would be a shame that. I'd love to see what they could do with a current gen Uncharted. The character models are still among the best I've seen and that was 7 years ago

[crazyCoconuts]

YES. Last of Us is good where it stands imo.
But even though they closed the story up pretty well with the last Uncharted, I'm not finished pretending to be Indiana Jones :-) I'm just a fan of the formula so to speak.
Tomb Raider has been ok, but nowhere near that level of quality and fun for me.

[Lighter9]

TLOU3 will be good as long as it's not 2 from someone else's point of view.

[Aloymetal]

Whatever it is they have in the oven (besides factions) I'm pretty sure is gonna look fantastic.

[Tacoboto]

New IP time.

They had new IP on PS2 with Jak and Daxter, new IP on PS3 with Uncharted and TLOU, those same two IP again on PS4, and by the looks of it we'll be 3 years into the PS5 with a 2013 Remake and maybe only as little as a trailer of the TLOU P2 MP mode originally planned for 2020.

Games are taking too long to make, Ragnarok took the right step in making the story fit into two games. Let TLOU end with the resolution we got in P2 and whatever needs to be told in the GaaS Factions.

[z2g]

interesting. i wonder what they have in the pipe right now. If they haven't even started a TLOU 3 then that means it would be years away if they decided to do it.

[darkrider]

A prequel with about Joel. There so much to be told!

[RedDevils]

Yeah that 20 years gap need explanation.

[Aussiesummer]

A sci-fi game would be cool but it definitely wouldn’t be called savage bloody starlight, lol, that’s clearly a parody name, to dumb for an actual game for a modern naughty dog.

[Bathyj]

I would have hoped they had been working on the story for last of us 3 so it could come out just before season 4 of the show, assuming the second game would account for 2 seasons of the show.

Oh well.
I'm totally down with new IP too, and definately want them to move on from Uncharted. If TLoU ends with 2 I'm still satisfied with that ending. Leaving it open to your own interpretation of where Ellie went from there.

[hotnickles]

It’s been too long. They need another banger.

[LucidIllusion]

UC5 for PS5 would've been kick ass

[Crows90]

Well...if you pretend the last of us 2 never happened you suddenly got a super compelling sequel...just dont f it up this time. And just dont let Neil touch it.

[outsider1624]

Lol..if there's a tlou3..Neil IS gonna be on the forefront. Whether he directs or not..the story will be his.

[Crows90]

Well then....pretty sure 5here won't be a 3rd part. He's a horrible story teller. Tlou1 was barely his vision. Tlou2 was all him ...all he could come up with. Basically the walking dead revenge story

[outsider1624]

@Crow
Tlou1 was written by Neil only and directed by him and bruce. Lol. What are you even talking about?

Tlou2 had 2 writers Neil and Hailey. And directed by him and 2 others. Do your research properly. Your personal hate won't change the fact that he did a pretty good job. You liked the story or you didnt. Thats it. Oh and Episode 2 of the show was directed by Neil btw.

[Snookies12]

Last of Us 2 was better than the first game... Straight up. The hate for it is very unjustified. Just people saying general terms like, "it sucks" or "it's trash". There's never any actual reasoning behind the hate for it.

Gameplay was better, story was better, graphics were better... It was bigger, longer and took more risks than the original. Still one of the most impressive games out there.

[mocaak]

All the pleads for Neil to stay away from The Last of Us are nonsense, he is the main creator and writer, without him there would probably never have been the first game.

But second better than the first one? First was superior in everything aside from technical aspect of the game. Much superior story - plot, writing, characters, also better level design and pacing, that's where I think the departure of Bruce Straley was felt the most. Game was relatively boring until a couple of final chapters.

Spoilers:

There are far more and bigger problems with the story than Joel's death and hulk Abby, it's her part in the story that driven hate towards her more than an actual character anyway. The problem is how the story was written and presented.

Joel and Tommy with 25 years of survival experience randomly run into an armed group in their zone while on PATROL, and completely drop their guard thinking those teens are their best friends. Ok, whatever, happens.

Then starts nonstop plot armor matching Daenerys from GoT, and everyone else in season 8. Tommy and Ellie spared for no reason, besides to show what? That we are the good guys and only wanted that piece of shit Joel? Ellie's girlfriend randomly surving a large group of people and then resquing Ellie.
Something between Tommy and Manny I also didn't like, don't remember exactly though.

Then Abby's group starts despising her after helping her find and kill Joel? What was their picture, they help her find Joel so they can sit with a cup of coffee and resolve the issue?

And the worst of all, 7-8 month prengant girl running and jumping all over? And Abby's whole group, besides herself, was made of horrible, boring characters.

There are many other issues, but I don't think there is a point in listing them all. Only last final chapters I truly enjoed, especially the last one where she finds Abby, was very well made and written.

It's not a bad game by any means, I'd still probably give it an 8, very technically advanced as expected from ND, writing still more compelling than majority of games. Fans might have also influenced the story, many asked for completely new prtogonists in the world, others wanted to see Joel and Ellie come back. Well we got both. But it's embarassing to even compare the quality of the first game to second. One is a masterpiece, that's regarded as one of the best games of all time, my personal favorite, and the other is a major step down and a disappointment.

[crazyCoconuts]

@mocaak - just touching on your early question about Abby's motive, there's a really personal reason for that motivation... maybe you missed it in the story? The entire game is themed around revenge, it's like THE central thing, with the other smaller stories revolving around it. It was a sad and painful story, but a really good one. But you have a right to your opinion, I'm just stating mine...

[mocaak]

@crazyCoconuts

I didn't question Abby's motive anywhere in my post. I think you misunderstood something. Are you refering to - "it's her part in the story that driven hate towards her more than an actual character anyway." If yes, I meant that hate of players revolving around Abby is mainly based solely for killing Joel, rather than on her character as a whole. And whether the story was good or not, it was poorly approached, was not well written, and vast majority of characters were bland.

[Sarcasm]

Lost me at "story was better"

I understand it's a very divisive game. But come on, the story was the weakest part of TLOU2

[outsider1624]

@mocack
Well that was well written. Fox's points came across as someone with a personal beef against the writer himself and all that theory about A.hennig. couldnt take him serious.

Anyway as for your points..my thoughts are different except for one. Here's what i think:

Tommy and Joel with 25 years of experience probably never came across a girl under attack by the infected( mind you if it were humans who attacked abby, then they'd probably thing its a setup) so they see no problem saving her. They also gave her a gun, she could have shot them..but waited out. Again no problem in trusting her. And lastly they were in the heat of the moment trying to get out...so ofcourse they couldn't think straight.

Joel was the only one who killed abbys dad, they see no reason to kill the others. In the cutscene Didnt they want to kill them too? But were stopped by owen. Most of them were like tommys people anyway. Anyway abby got her revenge..and didnt want anything to do with it. Can you imagine if they killed both ellie and tommy...? Roll credits...lol. jk.

Abbys group followed abby because of her obsession in finding joel..and then after you'd see her realization that it didnt give her her peace. Anyway..i cnt remember again some parts..its been a long time now.

Yeah this i give it to you...abbys pregnant friend was i dont know wierd...in that condition running around fighting..doesnt make sense.

Anyway this is my take of what i see in the story. Neil had the balls to kill off the main protagonist from the first game in such a depressing and cruel manner. It made me hate abby and the group that i wanna kill all of them. Only by the end i actually felt sorry and understood abby(by looking from her perspective).

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

He directed the recent episode of the show, and the horror and tension were amazing.

Objectively, Neil is rooted more firmly within the DNA of the franchise than anyone else. Doesn't matter how you feel, that's just a fact.

He came up with the original concept years before he even started working at Naughty Dog, so thank him for it even existing. You would play as a hardened cop who had lost his daughter, had turned criminal but became a protector of a young girl from infected. The role of protector would reverse at times.

He was the sole writer on TLOU (all of the dialogue is his and clearly has a particular writing style), and he was the creative director.

The more questionable concepts you hear about (e.g. like all infected being women) were when BOTH he and Bruce were experimenting further and trying to refine the idea to try sell it to the higher ups (that version was called Mankind).

He started as a programmer on Jak 3 and developed the range to also be able to write and direct a critically acclaimed HBO show.

He's creating a large writer's room so he's already giving people what they wanted. There's nothing to complain about.

[F0XH0UND922]

Part 2 is the most awarded game in history. Cope harder lol

[-Foxtrot]

Elden Ring is

[outsider1624]

@fox
Cute. Both at 300+ awards what does that tell you.
Interesting though...40+ awards were voted by audience for Elden Ring.
Tlou2 had 100+ awards voted by audience.

[mastershredder]

Buzzfeed really? The source is the very bottom of bottom feeder “news”/entertainment tabloid sites.

A platform would be interesting. But something new and original. I don’t want Neil’s taint on Jack and Daxter ever again (killed the series thanks bro).

[EternalTitan]

We need a Last of Us 3 where we play as Joels grandson and kill abby.

[F0XH0UND922]

No. Just.... no

[ravens52]

They'd probably make a really cool alien invasion type game

[Nacho_Z]

That's good news. I love Uncharted but it ended perfectly, why ruin that.

A new IP with the level of quality they bring will be something to get really excited about. Agree with others that sci-fi would be cool.

[anast]

I will play whatever they decided to release next.

[Neonridr]

I'm totally fine with them leaving those two stories behind. I feel they have been wrapped up nicely.

[JEECE]

I'm sure whatever new IP they make will get wildly misrepresented and hated on prior to launch, then it will be awesome anyway.

[Emeraldu]

Well, now is hard to unfk the story after part II featuring Abby steroids boring story. Abby steroids adventure should have been a DLC nothing more.

[NoFanBoy]

I doubt they will ever make anything as good as the uncharted series and The Last of Us in the future.

[Rainbowcookie]

My money is on a timetraveling space game. In this game time space gets messed up so the crew visits places from past ND games. This will alter past games and erase the happenings of TLOU2 and set up a 3rd game.

[DrShoe]

If there is going to be a TLOU3 it needs to be without Druckman's influence, TLOU2 remains a dumpster fire. But to be honest, I don't think they'll hit the highs they did with the first TLOU and the Uncharted games. How they reacted when fans criticised TLOU2 soured me against Naughty Dog to the point where I'll never buy any of their games.

[1nsomniac]

wow....they're learning!

Mind you, they're so full of it who knows what's true and what's not.

[Blaze929]

They may be but I doubt Sony is done with Uncharted.

[Orchard]

I won't lie and say I'm not bummed out over ditching UC (and potentially TLOU), but I'm also excited to see what new IP they come up with.

[moomoo319]

Damn I wanted a reboot with Nate’s daughter as protagonist and he’s older

[BrockEmSockEm]

I'll take Jak and Daxter please

[savedsynner]

Uncharted 2 was IMO the pinnacle of the franchise. 3 and 4 were excellent games but at this point, it doesn't really feel like there needs to be another game at this point. Maybe in 5 years, but for now, let Naughty Dog move on to a new IP and create another great franchise.

[Exvalos]

About time I'd love to see what else they can do. Come back to last of us maybe in 10 years or so with Ellie as an adult. Maybe she has a kid of her own she adopted. With uncharted it will be his daughter probably next Gen. But I'm glad naughty dog will branch out.

[Binarycode]

Then give the Uncharted I.P to another team. There's plenty to do in that universe.