The Last of Us co-leads Straley and Druckmann now on Uncharted 4
Plus, Naughty Dog has another project on the scale of Uncharted in the works.
The Last of Us co-leads Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann are leading development of the next Uncharted game, Naughty Dog has confirmed.
In an interview with Game Informer magazine, Naughty Dog bosses Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra revealed they had asked the pair to take charge of the project, set to star during Sony's E3 press conference next week.
Both Straley and Druckmann worked on Uncharted 1 and 2, but not Uncharted 3.
"It was not a difficult transition at all," Wells said. "Everybody just sort of accepted that as the new order of things and soldiered on. I mean we've been making enormous progress. If anything, things are accelerating instead of slowing down."
Balestra said Straley and Druckmann would "adjust what they've got and make it what they think is right". "There are some changes, obviously, that they will be making."
The news follows a raft of changes at the studio, the most high profile of which was the departure of Naughty Dog veteran and Uncharted creative director Amy Hennig, who left to work on a new Star Wars game for EA.
Wells and Balestra insisted Hennig's departure, and that of others over the last year or so, "was not significant at all".
"To us, it's kind of strange because the perception and what's being reported is in stark contrast to the feeling here at the studio," Wells insisted.
"Everyone here is energised and excited to show off what we've been working on. There are no doom and gloom feelings, unlike what's being portrayed by the journalists that are writing these stories. It would be comical if it hadn't persisted as long as it has - it's just not going away. Every single departure, or now even hires, are being reported as if it's big news."
Meanwhile, Wells confirmed Naughty Dog has another project on the scale of Uncharted in the very early pre-production stages, but don't hold your breath: "it's got a long runway in front of it".
"We have a lot of great ideas and some stuff that is already getting everybody jazzed and excited. So, it's a long way off before we can really start talking about it in detail. But no, [Bruce and Neil working on Uncharted] is not going to impact our ability to keep that stirring that pot."
