The Last of Us franchise is flying right now following the critically-acclaimed released show of the same name premiering on HBO Max, setting debut records and sparking massive new and renewed interest in the games the show is based on.
But while that Naughty Dog property has blossomed into a massive media franchise that’s set to continue expanding, another is essentially done for good according to both franchises’ driving writing force in Neil Druckman.
Druckman, creative director for both The Last of Us games and co-creator of the HBO Max series, confirmed in an interview with Buzzfeed yesterday that Naughty Dog is done with the Uncharted series. Druckman was a writer, director, and designer for the first, second, and fourth installments of the main series that starred the adventure-seeking treasure hunter Nathan Drake.
“For us, Uncharted was insanely successful—Uncharted 4 was one of our best selling games—and we’re able to put our final brushstroke on that story and say that we’re done,” Druckman told Buzzfeed. “We’re moving on.”
Naughty Dog developed and released all four main series games in the Uncharted series, plus the standalone expansion to Uncharted 4, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. The series is one of the most financially successful and most critically acclaimed amongst PlayStation exclusives and all games and was even adapted into a film released in 2022 that grossed over $400 million.
Druckman’s statement on the end of Uncharted was prompted by a question about the future of The Last of Us, in which he praised Sony for its complete support and acknowledged the company for not pressuring Naughty Dog to make a sequel just for the sake of one. Currently, Naughty Dog is working on a standalone multiplayer game that will serve as a follow-up to the multiplayer component from the first The Last of Us game.
