Remake of pioneering LGBT+ game The Last of Us reportedly in development
The Last Of Us / Uncharted 4. (Naughty Dog)
Could a remake of The Last of Us be on the way? Or a new Uncharted game?
According to a new report in Bloomberg, both could be on the cards.
The report focuses on Sony’s Visual Arts Service group, an internal team who assist other Sony studios with their projects. A number of developers from the group decided they wanted to create a new independent development unit with the intention of developing Sony’s most successful franchises.
Their first project? A remake of The Last of Us for the PlayStation 5, Naughty Dog’s 2013 game that’s become their most widely acclaimed series.
However, Sony never recognised the existence of the rogue unit and refused to provide funding. Their work, which involved a new game engine for the new console, was deemed too expensive. Later it was passed back to Naughty Dog and the unit was dissolved.
Does this mean that Naughty Dog may continue with the remake? The intention behind it was to bring the game in line with the sequel so the two could be packaged together for the PlayStation 5. Though not confirmed, this may still be in development.
The report also suggests that a new Uncharted game is in development from Sony Bend Studio. That team was responsible for zombie open-world action game Days Gone but were refused the chance to create a sequel due to its lengthy development and mixed critical reception.
Instead, the Sony Bend team has been split in two. One is assisting Naughty Dog with their forthcoming The Last of Us multiplayer game; the second has been assigned to work on a new Uncharted game with Naughty Dog supervising.
The news is indicative of Sony’s strategy with the PlayStation brand. Their focus is on AAA exclusive games based on their biggest franchises, rather than allowing smaller internal teams the opportunity to experiment.
While the perception to the public is that the PlayStation console has more exclusive games than main rival Xbox, these games are incredibly expensive to produce and lead Sony to take fewer risks.
Xbox, meanwhile, is focused on Game Pass and providing consumers with the widest possible range of gaming experiences. That said, Microsoft’s recent purchase of studio Bethesda is an aggressive move towards exclusives from a major developer – not to mention new rumours that Hideo Kojima’s next game could be coming to Xbox consoles.
Sony are yet to comment on the report, nor confirm the existence of either a The Last of Us remake or Uncharted game.
