Following the success of the critically-acclaimed The Last of Us 2, it's understandable that Naughty Dog fans are eager to know what the developer is up to next. And while the studio's next project hasn't been confirmed yet, Naughty Dog's co-president Neil Druckmann has confirmed that it's got more than one new project in the works.
In response to fans tweeting him and asking about "a future project", Druckmann tweeted saying that Naughty Dog has "several cool things" to share and that it will as soon as it can.
Given that Naughty Dog is a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment, it's pretty certain we'll see these projects coming to PS5 (and possibly PS4) in the future.
If you tweet at me, asking about a future project, I can’t say anything... Please stay patient. We have several cool things we can’t wait to share with you. As soon as we can, we will! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/kzzCmvS5a0March 2, 2021
What could these projects be?
We already know The Last of Us 2 is getting a standalone multiplayer expansion, with Naughty Dog revealing in September 2019 that The Last of Us 2's online mode 'Factions' would not be packaged with the main game as originally planned, as it had grown beyond being simply an additional game mode.
Instead, Naughty Dog revealed that fans would still be able to "eventually experience the fruits" of the team's labor, though when (and where) that would be was still being determined at the time.
Leaks of this multilayer gameplay leaked last year, but the studio has remained tight-lipped about the authenticity of the leak and still hasn't given an update on when we will see Factions.
It's likely Naughty Dog is also working on a PS5 upgrade for The Last of Us 2, which currently only has a PS4 version. We would expect this upgrade to utilize the power of the PS5, providing upgraded graphics and performance.
But that's not all Naughty Dog has cooking. We also know that the studio was hiring for development on a new single-player game in mid-2020 – everything from single-player level designers to temporary texture artists. One vacancy for a Tools Programmer detailed that the successful applicant would be "be working on our next-generation graphics analysis, profiling and debugging tool in conjunction with our sister technology groups," suggesting this new project is coming to PS5.
Again, Naughty Dog hasn't confirmed what this new project could be, so we can only speculate as to whether it's a new addition to one of its current franchises or a brand new IP. It's already rumored that Sony's 'secret' San Diego studio is potentially working on a new Uncharted game.
Finally, we also know that a The Last of Us TV show is coming to HBO, which Chernobyl's Johan Renck set to direct, The Mandalorian's Pedro Pascal set to play Joel and Game of Throne's Bella Ramsey to play Ellie.
It already looks like a busy year ahead for Naughty Dog, then. But we're hoping that there are still a few surprises up the studio's sleeves.
- The Last of Us TV show: everything we know so far about the HBO series
