Neil Druckmann Teases Naughty Dog’s Next Project
In a recent interview with VGC at a Sony Corporate Strategy meeting (sound exciting, right?), Neil Druckmann, co-president of Naughty Dog, teased that the next project from the studio would be its most ambitious yet and seeks to blur the line between videogames and movies even more than previous works like Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us Part II- which are already very cinematic. He also announced that the next project would seek to draw in all age groups and both gamers and non-gamers, which is something the studio has never really tried before.
Image by Naughty Dog
In the interview, Druckmann said the following when asked about the success of the recent The Last of Us television show:
"There's a growing appreciation for gaming that transcends all age groups, unlike when I was growing up. This shift is highlighted by our venture into television with The Last of Us, which I hoped would bridge the gap between gamers and non-gamers… The show's success has spotlighted gaming, illustrating the rich, immersive experiences it offers. This visibility excites me not only for our current project but for the broader potential of gaming to captivate a global audience. "
Image by Naughty Dog
Its true that a lot of recent videogame adaptations have garnered a lot of fans that wouldn’t normally have engaged with the medium. Of course, there’s ‘The Last of Us’ but also League of Legend’s ‘Arcane’ and ‘Fallout’, which were both massive commercial hits for Netflix and Amazon respectively. Even with characters already as popular as Mario and Sonic have benefitted from movies that have drawn in crowds of both existing gamers and non-gamers to experience their series for the first time. With Naughty Dog’s next project, it seems that they’re trying to narrow this bridge even further by allowing it to be their most accessible release yet.
Image by Naughty Dog
While its common to hear studios hype up their own releases with ambitious claims, the word ‘accessible’ isn’t usually brought up in conversation when speaking about games like The Last of Us, which has an incredibly gritty world and story that can turn many potential players away. This seems to imply that, potentially, the next project from the studio won’t be an entry in their existing franchises and, instead, will focus on something akin to their older releases such as Jak and Daxter- which hasn’t seen a new entry in 15 years. Considering that Sony confirmed that there would not be any major first party offerings coming until at least 2025, we probably won’t be hearing about Naughty Dog’s next game for a few years yet.
