Summary
As highlighted by Reddit user VFB-Fan93, Neil Druckmann revealed in a recent online panel called “Jewish Visionaries in Gaming” that Naughty Dog’s next game has been in development since 2020, the same year thatThe Last of Us Part 2launched.
We don’t know what state the game is in, but going by typical development cycles, we can take a rough guess, somewhere around late 2025 to 2026. That makes sense when you consider that we’re entering the final years of this generation and the studio still hasn’t released a new game yet.
As for when we can expect a formal announcement, Druckmann says that the ball is in Sony’s court. Reputable insiderJeff Grubbshot down rumours of a State of Play happening in December, so in all likelihood, we’ll hear about the game during a showcase next year.
Everything We Know About Naughty Dog’s New Game
Details are incredibly scarce on Naughty Dog’s newest project right now, but we have a few rumours, leaks, and vague comments to go off of.
Druckmann revealed in February thatthe studio’s next game isn’t The Last of Us Part 3(that’s coming later), so we know it’s at least not a sequel to Ellie and Abby’s story.
Reports surfaced last month thatthere will be an emphasis on “player freedom”, and Druckmann has said that he is “intrigued” byElden RingandInside’sless traditional storytelling.
It’s long been rumoured that Naughty Dog is working on a fantasy game, but theleakers who made that claimalso allege that Druckmann is not involved in the project. Since Druckmann himself said that Sony gave him complete control over Naughty Dog’s next game, it’s unlikely then to be the rumoured fantasy one.
That brings us back to square one. It’s probably not the fantasy game and it’s definitely not The Last of Us Part 3. What we do know, however, is that Druckmann said that he’s interested in “trying something a little bit new, a little bit different”. Odds are then, we can expect a new IP. It’s not a lot to go off of, I did says details were scarce, but hopefully we’ll find out more next year.
Naughty Dog
Part of PlayStation Studios, Naughty Dog has a long history of creating great games for the platform, from Crash Bandicoot to Jak & Daxter. It is perhaps better known now for the smash hit series The Last Of Us and Uncharted, games that push the boundaries of great storytelling and action-packed set pieces.
