A glut of new job listings that have been posted on Naughty Dog’s website suggest that a new game is in the pipeline by the celebrated developer of Uncharted and The Last of Us.
Teaming up with PlayStation for its 2007 release, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, the developer went on to produce further titles in the acclaimed Uncharted series, as well as the record breaking The Last of Us (parts one and two). With well fleshed out characters, gripping narratives, and cinematic cutscenes winning awards for Naughty Dog left, right and center, the team is renowned within the gaming industry.
It would now appear that Naughty Dog is cooking up something more for its fans. Proclaiming that something “very cool” was in the works, Naughty Dog’s recently appointed co-president Neil Druckmann shared a huge list of job openings on his Twitter handle. Included in the latest job openings at Naughty Dog are a character concept artist, a melee/ gameplay animator, and a level/environmental designer, among others. The jobs that have been listed certainly lend themselves to the continuing trend that we've come to expect from a Naughty Dog game, with a focus on characters and realism.
With The Last of Us Part 2 and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Naughty Dog dipped its toe into a slightly more open world experience, with Seattle and The Western Ghats respectively being explorable at will. Ultimately though, these games still pushed the narratives in a specific way to achieve an end goal. Perhaps this latest project will develop this open world and free play idea even further.
While it hasn't been confirmed what game is currently in development, it's still great news for Naughty Dog fans. Most recently, The Last of Us Part 2 won Game of the Year 2020 at The Game Awards, as well as the Metacritic Users Game of the Year award. With accolades upon accolades to their name, the developers at Naughty Dog definitely know what they are doing when it comes to creating a captivating and engaging title.