‘The Last of Us’ Directors in Charge of New ‘Uncharted,’ New Project in Development at Naughty Dog

by Brien Bell | Jun 2, 2014 | 1 comment
Brien Bell

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In an exclusive interview with Game Informer, the co-presidents of Naughty Dog have revealed that they have new projects in the works, one of which is “on the scale of Uncharted in very early pre-production stages,” and that the directors of last year’s The Last of Us have assumed control of the upcoming Uncharted game for PlayStation 4.

Speaking with Game Informer Editor-in-Chief Andy McNamara, Naughty Dog presidents Evan Wells and Christophe Ballestra talked openly about the fallout following news of several major personnel departures, including Uncharted creative director Amy Hennig and Uncharted 3 game director Justin Richmond. “Every single departure, or now even hires, are being reported as if it’s big news,” said Wells, with Ballestra adding that “[s]tatistically, it’s not unusual” when asked whether these and others leaving the studio amounted to normal attrition.

the-last-of-us-remastered-two-column-01-ps4-usWells and Ballestra also confirmed that Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann, the game director and creative director of The Last of Us, had assumed those positions in the development of the new Uncharted game, while again denying any role in the end of Hennig’s tenure at the developer. “The only time we felt obligated to come out and respond to it was when our employees’ names were being tarnished completely unnecessarily,” Wells stated, echoing the statement issued by the co-presidents days after the news of Hennig leaving broke.

In addition to Uncharted PS4 and The Last of Us: Remastered, Wells added that Naughty Dog has “other projects in the works that are in the very early stages,” specifically that there are “at least four different pretty significant things going on right now.” One of those projects, as mentioned above, is in very early pre-production and may be at the level of Uncharted in terms of scope and reach.

There are certainly lots of juicy hints as to where the studio is headed as the PlayStation 4-era takes shape, and especially with E3 right around the corner. For more from the co-presidents of Naughty Dog, be sure to check out the rest of Game Informer’s extensive interview here.

Discuss:

Does this settle the matter of Amy Hennig leaving Naughty Dog? Are you excited that there is a major new IP in the works? Let us know in the comments.