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Neil Druckmann On Why Naughty Dog Hasn't Revealed Next PS5 Game Yet

https://www.naughtydogcentral.com/p...naughty-dog-hasn-t-revealed-next-ps5-game-yet

erview with ComicBook.com to promote The Last of Us on HBO, Druckmann discussed how Naughty Dog's tendency to announce games too far in advance has previously harmed the studio. Naughty Dog specifically informed fans about what was being created for both Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and The Last of Us Part 2 years before their eventual releases. Although these early announcements helped to generate buzz, Druckmann does not appear to want to do so again for the studio's next game.

"You're right, we did announce Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us Part 2 way in advance, but that actually caused a little bit of the work-life balance issues that we've sometimes had at the studio," Druckmann explained. "By delaying that announcement a bit, we could play with the schedule more and we're more conscious now about how we're approaching production. So there's our [The Last of Us] multiplayer project and there's another project that I will not say anything about that's beyond that that we're also very much excited for."

Wouldn’t be surprised if thats a sentiment with SIE overall this generation.
 
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AJUMP23

Parody of actual AJUMP23
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SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
But they already announced factions last year after admitting it was in development way back in 2019 and it doesn’t look like it will hit this year. If it comes out next year then it will have the same 2 years from reveal to release schedule of other games.
 

Belthazar

Member
Good, one of the better changes with Sony lately is that whenever they announce and show a game I know it'll be playable reasonably soon
 

elco

Member
But they already announced factions last year after admitting it was in development way back in 2019 and it doesn’t look like it will hit this year. If it comes out next year then it will have the same 2 years from reveal to release schedule of other games.
Wait, no factions this year? As in 2023? Do we have a source for that? I still can't believe we know essentially nothing about this game, and many expected it to initially be part of TLOU2. Personally I'm very disappointed and frustrated with how they've handled it.
 

cormack12

Gold Member
I mean you could say the same about Factions really. That was announced ages ago.

I think people are sensible, they just wanna speculate. Just saying the title and the genre would be enough. I don't think anyone is expecting gameplay reveals or anything.
 

cormack12

Gold Member
Wait, no factions this year? As in 2023? Do we have a source for that? I still can't believe we know essentially nothing about this game, and many expected it to initially be part of TLOU2. Personally I'm very disappointed and frustrated with how they've handled it.
I'm going to guess they realised it was too ambitious and limiting for PS4 and did a reset
 
Wait, no factions this year? As in 2023? Do we have a source for that? I still can't believe we know essentially nothing about this game, and many expected it to initially be part of TLOU2. Personally I'm very disappointed and frustrated with how they've handled it.

No on knows if it will launch this year or not and they only ‘officially’ announced it last summer and it still doesn’t even have a title so it barely counts. All we know is they are making a multiplayer game.

The only reason people think they announced it in 2019 is because they cancelled the originally multiplayer add on. To me its not an announcement until we get an official title or teaser
 
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vivftp

Member
It's disappointing the productivity of ND is so slow but they are quality.

lol, slow productivity relative to what? To whom?

Nov 2007 - Uncharted : Drake's Fortune (PS3)
Oct 2009 - Uncharted 2 : Among Thieves (PS3)
Nov 2011 - Uncharted 3 : Drake's Deception (PS3)
Jun 2013 - The Last of Us (PS3)
Jul 2014 - The Last of Us Remastered (PS4)
May 2016 - Uncharted 4 : A Thief's End (PS4)
Aug 2017 - Uncharted The Lost Legacy (PS4)
Jun 2020 - The Last of Us Part 2 (PS4)
Jan 2022 - Uncharted : Legacy of Thieves Collection (PS5)
Sep 2022 - The Last of Us Part 1 (PS5)
Oct 2022 - Uncharted : Legacy of Thieves Collection (PC)
Mar 2023 - The Last of Us Part 1 (PC)


That's the last 16 years of projects from Naughty Dog. Even if you only count brand new games, that's about 1 new game every 2 years. They're currently working on TLOU MP, apparently a new IP under Neil. Rumor is they're co-developing a new Uncharted game with VASG and are very likely working on the PS5/PC version of TLOU Part 2. This is in addition to collaborating on the TLOU HBO series. We also have indications that a Jak & Daxter movie may occur, in which case they'd collaborate on that and quite likely either give us some newer versions of some of the older games, or possibly a new entry in that franchise.

There was also the Uncharted movie, but since that all began well before PlayStation Productions was a thing, I dunno how involved ND really were in that.


Anyways, if the above is an indication of slow and disappointing productivity, then who exactly would you consider to be a productive studio?
 

blastprocessor

The Amiga Brotherhood
lol, slow productivity relative to what? To whom?

Nov 2007 - Uncharted : Drake's Fortune (PS3)
Oct 2009 - Uncharted 2 : Among Thieves (PS3)
Nov 2011 - Uncharted 3 : Drake's Deception (PS3)
Jun 2013 - The Last of Us (PS3)
Jul 2014 - The Last of Us Remastered (PS4)
May 2016 - Uncharted 4 : A Thief's End (PS4)
Aug 2017 - Uncharted The Lost Legacy (PS4)
Jun 2020 - The Last of Us Part 2 (PS4)
Jan 2022 - Uncharted : Legacy of Thieves Collection (PS5)
Sep 2022 - The Last of Us Part 1 (PS5)
Oct 2022 - Uncharted : Legacy of Thieves Collection (PC)
Mar 2023 - The Last of Us Part 1 (PC)


That's the last 16 years of projects from Naughty Dog. Even if you only count brand new games, that's about 1 new game every 2 years. They're currently working on TLOU MP, apparently a new IP under Neil. Rumor is they're co-developing a new Uncharted game with VASG and are very likely working on the PS5/PC version of TLOU Part 2. This is in addition to collaborating on the TLOU HBO series. We also have indications that a Jak & Daxter movie may occur, in which case they'd collaborate on that and quite likely either give us some newer versions of some of the older games, or possibly a new entry in that franchise.

There was also the Uncharted movie, but since that all began well before PlayStation Productions was a thing, I dunno how involved ND really were in that.


Anyways, if the above is an indication of slow and disappointing productivity, then who exactly would you consider to be a productive studio?

I'm talking about new IP or sequels not the recent ports and remasters. Also let's be clear other 1st party studios were involved in these.
 
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I'm talking about new IP or sequels not the recent ports and remasters.

Even if you go by those metrics they are still in a 2.5 game a year average

So June 2023 for their next game hopefully?

Well see, im willing to give them grace considering this is the first full fledged multiplayer game, its not like we’ve been waiting 4-5 years like other SIE studios

At this point it’s basically Insomniac > Naughty Dog >>> everyone else in terms of productivity
 
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elco

Member
No on knows if it will launch this year or not and they only ‘officially’ announced it last summer and it still doesn’t even have a title so it barely counts. All we know is they are making a multiplayer game.

The only reason people think they announced it in 2019 is because they cancelled the originally multiplayer add on. To me its not an announcement until we get an official title or teaser

Factions 2 being left out of TLOU2 was a big disappointment for me. The expectation was that since factions was so well received from the first game, it was obviously going to be part of the sequel. It was only revealed shortly before release that it wouldn't be included, but would be coming at a later date. I think you're downplaying the amount of time most factions fans have been expecting factions 2.
 

Lupin25

Member
they are most likely still in the planning phases for their slow walking sequences. those are very important and the core of their game design philosophy.

I bet they will be revolutionary!

A bit too on the 👃

Not a fan of ND dude? Lol
 

vivftp

Member
I'm talking about new IP or sequels not the recent ports and remasters. Also let's be clear other 1st party studios were involved in these.
They're presumably working on a new IP as we speak, and have been since TLOU 2 wrapped. And while TLOU MP isn't a new IP, it's certainly a new direction for the studio.

And yes, of course other studios were involved - that's how PlayStation Studios operates. They all help one another, and they've got a massive support infrastructure to help with all their games.

So June 2023 for their next game hopefully?

Keep in mind the pandemic delays would've hit them too, just like everyone else. Average for many studios seems to be that projects were pushed back about a year or so.
 
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Wait, no factions this year? As in 2023? Do we have a source for that? I still can't believe we know essentially nothing about this game, and many expected it to initially be part of TLOU2. Personally I'm very disappointed and frustrated with how they've handled it.

The scope of the game changed drastically about two years or so ago: From a "mere companion" to the Last of Us II campaign, to a standalone multiplayer title.
 
Factions 2 being left out of TLOU2 was a big disappointment for me. The expectation was that since factions was so well received from the first game, it was obviously going to be part of the sequel. It was only revealed shortly before release that it wouldn't be included, but would be coming at a later date. I think you're downplaying the amount of time most factions fans have been expecting factions 2.

I think it will be a better experience as a stand alone game that they have to commit to updating and putting a decent Q/A team into rather than another add-on that would have been forgotten already like Tsushima Legends mode or all their other add-on multiplayer modes.

You’ll be happier with Bungie also assisting them, because SIE doing multiplayer was always them stumbling over their feet to get it right
 
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mortal

Banned
This is the right move imo, and I think it's also part of the reason why Sony isn't just having a huge showcase every year just because it's what people have gotten used to.

This way there is much less time waiting between the initial reveal of a game and its release. Or developers having to delay the release date because of unforeseen issues in production. Getting a title 1-2 years release after its reveal would be ideal.
 

Represent.

Banned
they are most likely still in the planning phases for their slow walking sequences. those are very important and the core of their game design philosophy.

I bet they will be revolutionary

ND also makes the best set pieces in the medium bar none
 

Thirty7ven

Banned
I like game reveals and game releases close to each other, but I see no reason why games can’t be announced in advance or why there’s so much secrecy involving which projects are or are not in development. In that sense there’s too much secrecy, but then again gaming fans have the nasty habit of pestering game devs.
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
They are happy collecting cash from their previous games, so why the rush
 
I like game reveals and game releases close to each other, but I see no reason why games can’t be announced in advance or why there’s so much secrecy involving which projects are or are not in development. In that sense there’s too much secrecy, but then again gaming fans have the nasty habit of pestering game devs.

As soon as you announce a new game you’re pretty much on the clock. Nintendo has been good (aside from Metroid and Zelda) in terms of announcing games close to release. Sony and Microsoft need to get closer to that strategy this gen even if it means less hype cycles.

The way people were harassing god of war devs last year was embarrassing
 
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vivftp

Member
I like game reveals and game releases close to each other, but I see no reason why games can’t be announced in advance or why there’s so much secrecy involving which projects are or are not in development. In that sense there’s too much secrecy, but then again gaming fans have the nasty habit of pestering game devs.

Your last sentence is a massive, MASSIVE reason. "Fans" can be insufferable pricks and add extra stress to the lives of devs. Plus things can change with games, or games could even be cancelled outright, which is another reason to not reveal things too early or reveal certain aspects of a game which may later change.

I'm perfectly fine with a short lead-up from announce to launch, and leaving the massive marketing campaign for the couple weeks before launch. It's worked very well for Horizon, GT7 and God of War. I'm fine with Sony continuing this approach.
 

Mr Hyde

Member
The massive leak of TLOU 2 most likely did a number on him and the studio, and they are acting accordingly to prevent that from ever happening again, which probably means early announcements and hype building is off the table.
 

CJ_75

Member
Nov 2007 - Uncharted : Drake's Fortune (PS3)
Oct 2009 - Uncharted 2 : Among Thieves (PS3)
Nov 2011 - Uncharted 3 : Drake's Deception (PS3)
Jun 2013 - The Last of Us (PS3)
Jul 2014 - The Last of Us Remastered (PS4)
May 2016 - Uncharted 4 : A Thief's End (PS4)
Aug 2017 - Uncharted The Lost Legacy (PS4)
Jun 2020 - The Last of Us Part 2 (PS4)
Jan 2022 - Uncharted : Legacy of Thieves Collection (PS5)
Sep 2022 - The Last of Us Part 1 (PS5)
Oct 2022 - Uncharted : Legacy of Thieves Collection (PC)
Mar 2023 - The Last of Us Part 1 (PC)

So, June 2020 was their last new(!) game (TLOU 2). And the game before that, was a relatively small project.
Productive? Sure, if you count the ports/remasters. What your list does show, that creativity definitly has stalled at Naughty Dog.
ND had to crunch really hard for TLOU 2. I think they had a major burnout after finishing that game.
I do think they have to show us something by now and something fresh would be nice. Factions is in production like forever.
If you do want to know a creative and productive studio, look at Insomniac. They have released Miles Morales, a remastered Spider-Man and R&C Rift Apart. Except R&C, not just on PS5, also on PC but I guess we have to thank Nixxes for that. Soon, Insomniac will release Spider-Man 2 and already teased Wolverine. Obviously, they don't mind announcing projects in early stages.
 
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So, June 2020 was their last new(!) game (TLOU 2). And the game before that, was a relatively small project.
Productive? Sure, if you count the ports/remasters. What your list does show, that creativity definitly has stalled at Naughty Dog.
ND had to crunch really hard for TLOU 2. I think they had a major burnout after finishing that game.
I do think they have to show us something by now and something fresh would be nice. Factions is in production like forever.
If you do want to know a creative and productive studio, look at Insomniac. They have released Miles Morales, a remastered Spider-Man and R&C Rift Apart. Except R&C, not just on PS5, also on PC but I guess we have to thank Nixxes for that. Soon, Insomniac will release Spider-Man 2 and already teased Wolverine. Obviously, they don't mind announcing projects in early stages.
Creativity stalled at ND but we should look at Insomniac who made more Ratchet & Clank games that Uncharted and TLoU combined, and now they are a Marvel machine. There so much creativity that I feel creative as well. Insomiac are the embodiment of productivity and they are among the best in what they do.
You are completely biased my friend.
ND is an exceptional developer, productive, with a killing streak of successful IPs created (a thing that Insomniac can't say).
They just made a beautiful game with an ugly story with a terrible idea of sequel, but writers don't develop games and don't obscure talent.
 

CJ_75

Member
Creativity stalled at ND but we should look at Insomniac who made more Ratchet & Clank games that Uncharted and TLoU combined, and now they are a Marvel machine. There so much creativity that I feel creative as well. Insomiac are the embodiment of productivity and they are among the best in what they do.
You are completely biased my friend.
ND is an exceptional developer, productive, with a killing streak of successful IPs created (a thing that Insomniac can't say).
They just made a beautiful game with an ugly story with a terrible idea of sequel, but writers don't develop games and don't obscure talent.

Wait, what? Biased? I guess I am my friend. I am indeed a huge Naughty Dog fan. I am not questioning their productivity, their classy storytelling and technical expertise. The PS5 is 2 years old and the Playstation premier developer have not released or teased any new game yet. They have released a remake which I think a few people have said it was way too early for a remake. And they showed some art, it was crazy beautiful though.

A little more respect for Insomniac my friend. Have you seen this list? They even released Playstation VR games which Naughty Dog has completely ignored.
 
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sainraja

Member
they are most likely still in the planning phases for their slow walking sequences. those are very important and the core of their game design philosophy.

I bet they will be revolutionary!
Go play and talk about games you actually like! And slow walking sequences isn't all what their games are but no surprise that you latch on to that small aspect and rinse/repeat the same in almost any thread about their games. We get it. You don't like their games. If you sincerely don't like their style, why are you always talking about them? lol
 

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
Excellent take. Say what you want about Druckmann but Naughty Dog is properly managed.

Microsoft shot themselves in the foot by revealing too many projects too early on. Now people are getting impatient and rumors abound that some of them are experiencing some serious development issue.

If Fable was announced this year, this would have never happened. They'd have announced it in 2023, have gameplay footage to show off later in the year or in 2024, and the game would release in 2024/2025. Instead, they announced it in 2020 and 2 years later, not a second of gameplay footage.

Same for Avowed, Everwild, and Perfect Dark. Keep your cards close to your chest. Gamers are an impatient bunch and believe everything they read.
 

leo-j

Member
lol, slow productivity relative to what? To whom?

Nov 2007 - Uncharted : Drake's Fortune (PS3)
Oct 2009 - Uncharted 2 : Among Thieves (PS3)
Nov 2011 - Uncharted 3 : Drake's Deception (PS3)
Jun 2013 - The Last of Us (PS3)
Jul 2014 - The Last of Us Remastered (PS4)
May 2016 - Uncharted 4 : A Thief's End (PS4)
Aug 2017 - Uncharted The Lost Legacy (PS4)
Jun 2020 - The Last of Us Part 2 (PS4)
Jan 2022 - Uncharted : Legacy of Thieves Collection (PS5)
Sep 2022 - The Last of Us Part 1 (PS5)
Oct 2022 - Uncharted : Legacy of Thieves Collection (PC)
Mar 2023 - The Last of Us Part 1 (PC)


That's the last 16 years of projects from Naughty Dog. Even if you only count brand new games, that's about 1 new game every 2 years. They're currently working on TLOU MP, apparently a new IP under Neil. Rumor is they're co-developing a new Uncharted game with VASG and are very likely working on the PS5/PC version of TLOU Part 2. This is in addition to collaborating on the TLOU HBO series. We also have indications that a Jak & Daxter movie may occur, in which case they'd collaborate on that and quite likely either give us some newer versions of some of the older games, or possibly a new entry in that franchise.

There was also the Uncharted movie, but since that all began well before PlayStation Productions was a thing, I dunno how involved ND really were in that.


Anyways, if the above is an indication of slow and disappointing productivity, then who exactly would you consider to be a productive studio?
UNCH 2007
UNCH 2 2009
UNCH 3 2011
TLOU 2013
UNCH 4 2016
TLOU 2 2020

A dlc turned single player game (lost legacy) can arguably be added to 2017. They haven’t released a full game since TLOU PT 2. The rest were remasters already made. TLOU pt 1 was remade but still. Considering what insomniac has been doing but that’s different I guess. The multiplayer must be a destiny Esq game at this rate.
 
I dont think they’ve ever gone more than 3 years without releasing a game
i don't think they've ever made a ps5 game, tho...

2007 uncharted
2009 uncharted 2
2011 uncharted 3
2013 last of us
2016 uncharted 4
2017 lost legacy
2020 last of us 2

from 2 years between ps3 games to 3 years between ps4 games. so, ps5 games? i guess we'll see...
 

vivftp

Member
So, June 2020 was their last new(!) game (TLOU 2). And the game before that, was a relatively small project.
Productive? Sure, if you count the ports/remasters. What your list does show, that creativity definitly has stalled at Naughty Dog.
ND had to crunch really hard for TLOU 2. I think they had a major burnout after finishing that game.
I do think they have to show us something by now and something fresh would be nice. Factions is in production like forever.
If you do want to know a creative and productive studio, look at Insomniac. They have released Miles Morales, a remastered Spider-Man and R&C Rift Apart. Except R&C, not just on PS5, also on PC but I guess we have to thank Nixxes for that. Soon, Insomniac will release Spider-Man 2 and already teased Wolverine. Obviously, they don't mind announcing projects in early stages.
UNCH 2007
UNCH 2 2009
UNCH 3 2011
TLOU 2013
UNCH 4 2016
TLOU 2 2020

A dlc turned single player game (lost legacy) can arguably be added to 2017. They haven’t released a full game since TLOU PT 2. The rest were remasters already made. TLOU pt 1 was remade but still. Considering what insomniac has been doing but that’s different I guess. The multiplayer must be a destiny Esq game at this rate.

Will just response to these two together

- Lost Legacy is smaller than a more recent title like Uncharted 4, but in terms of size it's roughly on par with a game like Uncharted 1. It stands on its own as a title, even if it's a bit smaller, just like SM Miles Morales stands on its own even if it's a smaller entry than Spider-Man 2018.

- TLOU2 is by far their biggest game ever and required all hands on deck near the end to get it out the door. It left them in a situation where they weren't able to do their normal process of already having a concept in place or even beginning pre-production on the next game once TLOU 2 wrapped up. That, plus the fact that it launched during the pandemic left them even further behind because they had to do concepting and pre-production on the new IP while also converting to work from home.

- TLOU MP was announced to be spun off to be its own thing in September 2019, so we're now almost 3.5 years from that point. Typical AAA development is 4, or even 5 years, and there's a very good chance it releases this year. So yeah, that seems to be about on point. Of course this project was already in the works as the TLOU MP game, but once it was spun off due to its ambitions growing larger, we have no way of knowing just how far along they were and how much larger things grew after Sept 2019.

- Insomniac are in a league of their own with their insane output, or at the very least there are very few other studios that can match them. Keep in mind that Insomniac has been a multi-project developer for some time now, but other PlayStation Studios didn't begin the move to multi-project until after 2019. When Evan Wells and Ted Price sat down to chat in April 2021, Evan mention they still weren't multi-project at the time, but were very close. Now Naughty Dog is fully multi-project, so their output will only go up going forward. Anyways, point is that Insomniac having an even more impressive track record of output compared to Naughty Dog is nothing to be ashamed of and in no way puts Naughty Dogs output in a bad light. It also didn't hurt that in terms of timing relative to the pandemic, Miles Morales and Rift Apart would've been closer to the tail end of their development when the pandemic really hit them. Spider-Man 2 would've begun its production back in 2019, so it was at least off the ground. I do personally suspect it was meant to launch in 2022 alongside Across The Spider-Verse Part 1, but both projects got pushed back to 2023.

- Keep in mind that announcing a project like Wolverine may have also been to drum up interest for new employees to work on the project. Also, they prolly wanted to get the announcement out the door before it was spoiled.
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
But they already announced factions last year after admitting it was in development way back in 2019 and it doesn’t look like it will hit this year. If it comes out next year then it will have the same 2 years from reveal to release schedule of other games.
They had to announce TLOU Online back in 2019 because they had to inform the public that TLOU 2 will not have an online mode, and that it will be a separate game now.

They still haven't properly announced the TLOU Online game though. We don't know its name, platforms, mode, or anything like that. We haven't officially seen the game yet. So technically, they haven't actually revealed the game yet -- just confirmed its existence for the aforementioned reason.
 

Godot25

Banned
It's not that hard to understand.
Time to get one AAA game to ship got extremely longer in last gen. So now you are looking at 4-5 years to make a AAA game. Even longer when you factor in pandemic that directly impacted Naughty Dog, and fact that they released their last game in 2020 (not counting remake of first game), there is no reason to expect announcement from them soon. Especially when they are making new IP because those tends to be in development even longer than "iterative sequel" like TLOU 2 or Uncharted 4.

We would be lucky if we can get one game this gen from studios that released their last game in tail end of last gen like Sucker Punch, Naughty Dog and Sony Santa Monica. Days that we could get entire trilogy of games in one gen are just over. And sooner the people "get it" the better.
 
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