Naughty Dog is one of the most critically-acclaimed studios PlayStation has, creating many of its most well-renowned games. There has been much speculation about what the studio's next game is, and Naughty Dog's Co-President, Neil Druckmann, has dropped another reference to it.
For over 20 years, Naughty Dog has been developing hits for PlayStation, going back to Crash Bandicoot on the PS1. The Jak series in the early 2000s developed the studio into one with a stronger narrative purpose, which would fully come to fruition with the Uncharted and later The Last of Us. In 2020, Naughty Dog released The Last of Us: Part 2, arguably its most ambitious game to date, going on to win several Game of the Year awards, and challenging just how far video game narratives can go. Now, it is known that Naughty Dog is definitely working on a new project, it being Factions multiplayer for The Last of Us: Part 2, but rumors suggest there may be more than just one game currently in development.
Neil Druckmann has updated his Twitter bio with a tease of a future unspecified Naughty Dog game, sparking debate over the game. His bio references his current role at Naughty Dog, as well as his various project roles, including The Last of Us, The Last of Us: Part 2, and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. The phrase of concern here comes at the very, Druckmann writing, "and THAT future game!" Emphasizing and acknowledging rumors of Naughty Dog's various developments. Druckmann recently finished work on The Last of Us' HBO series, which is currently still in production.
This is not the first time Druckmann has teased about a future Naughty Dog project, potentially referring to The Last of Us: Part 2's Factions in a tweet last year. As The Last of Us Day 2020 came to a close, Druckmann thanked the fans for another celebration, but before signing off, wrote, "Oh... And about that other thing... Be patient. It'll be worth it." However, with current knowledge of the The Last of Us HBO series, the supposed The Last of Us remake for modern consoles, as well as the rumored new IP, Stray's Cross, there's no telling if the project he was referring to last year is the one his new bio is hinting at.
It is a bizarre situation for Naughty Dog with so many rumored releases, but none of which actually being outright confirmed or debunked. There are even smoke and mirrors with The Last of Us: Part 2's multiplayer, as the project was confirmed without any actual name or release window, just the written confirmation of its development. That said, Druckmann's tease here is harmless enough, though it may be in reference to an unannounced game as his multiplayer credits are not as strong as his narrative-focused ones. At least the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection will be a good source of PS5 development training for whatever Naughty Dog's next game is.