Naughty Dog reportedly working on The Last of Us remake for PS5
Days Gone 2 not happening.
Naughty Dog is working on a The Last of Us remake, according to a new report.
Bloomberg said this project was in development at an unnanounced new studio created within its little-known San Diego-based Visual Arts Service Group, but was handed to Naughty Dog after Sony had a change of mind.
Meanwhile, Days Gone 2 isn't happening. Bloomberg said developer Sony Bend unsuccessfully pitched the sequel in 2019. "Although the first game had been profitable, its development had been lengthy and critical reception was mixed, so a Days Gone 2 wasn't seen as a viable option," Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reported.
A team within Sony Bend is now helping Naughty Dog with a multiplayer game. A second team within Sony Bend was assigned to work on a new Uncharted game "with supervision from Naughty Dog", but this is no longer happening and Sony Bend is now working on a new game of its own.
"Bend's developers feared they might be absorbed into Naughty Dog, and the studio's leadership asked to be taken off the Uncharted project," Bloomberg said. "They got their wish last month and are now working on a new game of their own."
Bloomberg contextualises these developments as "Sony's obsession with blockbusters", which is "stirring unrest" at PlayStation's studios. The leadership of the new studio initially working on The Last of Us remake have disbanded. Some staff at Sony Bend, including top leads, were unhappy with being assigned the Uncharted game and left. The suggestion is Sony is no longer interested in taking creative risks, and instead has a "fixation on teams that churn out hits". Sony's recent reorganisation of its Japan studio - and subsequent staff exodus - tallies with this approach.
Along with word Days Gone had not been beloved enough to get a sequel, Eurogamer had heard about the now-scuppered plans for a new Uncharted game at Sony Bend, which was set to be a new chapter in the series separated somewhat from Naughty Dog's previous games. One person familiar with plans told us it had been intended as something of a reboot for the franchise, with one idea being for a prequel, before Sony Bend departed the project.