Uncharted has become one of the most popular franchises on the PlayStation and there is a lot of hype for the fourth, and possibly final, installment, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
In an interview with Eurogamer, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president Jim Ryan discussed whether he believes that the Uncharted series could go on without its original developer Naughty Dog.
“[Uncharted is] an IP that’s very closely tied to that developer. That’s all I’ll say,” Ryan explained to Eurogamer at Paris Games Week. “It’s something that’s very special to us, and I think much of that specialness relates to the association between the franchise and [Naughty Dog]. It’d be a difficult step to break that association.”
Naughty Dog hasn’t officially stated that Uncharted 4 will be the last in the series, but the studio has hinted heavily that it may be the last we’ll see of Nathan Drake for sometime. Co-director of Uncharted 4, Neil Druckmann, has stated that A Thief’s End marks the “end of an era” for Naughty Dog as a developer.
“We get more and more that feeling of this definitely [being] the end of an era for us as a studio,” he said. “We’ve been with this franchise for almost ten years now from inception all the way to this point. Luckily, we don’t get too much time to dwell on that feeling because we’re so busy, but every once in a while… you know?”
Lead designer on Uncharted 4, Kurt Margenau, also indicated that this will be Drake’s final chapter when he said “We are fulfilling that vision and it’s going to be awesome. It’s Nathan Drake’s final chapter, so I think fans are going to be happy.”
There’s no doubt some temptation to continue the series given its massive popularity, but there is also the risk of the franchise becoming stale. There have been rumors that Naughty Dog is going to start working on a sequel to their hit game The Last of Us, as Nathan Drake’s voice actor Nolan North, who also voiced a character in The Last of Us, stated that Naughty Dog is working on a sequel to The Last of Us.
Druckmann was quick to clarify this by saying: “When Bruce (Straley, co-director) and I moved over to Uncharted 4, we were brainstorming ideas for The Last of Us 2 with characters; ideas for TLOU 2 with Joel and Ellie; ideas for a sci-fi game; ideas for a fantasy game, and building prototypes for each one of those ideas,” he explained.
“So, I guess [Nolan North] was kind of right in that we were working on stuff, but we don’t know what we’re doing next and we won’t know until probably a few months after we finish Uncharted 4.”
Whatever happens, we look forward to seeing what Naughty Dog works on next. What about a new Crash Bandicoot game? HINT, HINT!
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is due to be released exclusively on the PlayStation 4 on March 18, 2016.
[Source: Eurogamer]
More Uncharted
- Uncharted 4’s Multiplayer Trailer at Sony’s Paris Games Week Presser Is Everything We Wanted
- Alan Tudyk Walked Out on Uncharted 4 After Script Change
- Nolan North and Troy Baker Finish Uncharted 4 Motion Capture Work
