Naughty Dog is currently working on a number of games, but only The Last of Us multiplayer spin-off has been announced thus far. Information on its purported new IP has remained a secret. Neil Druckmann, co-president of Naughty Dog, clarifies in a recent Comicbook interview that the reason the game studio has yet to provide any firm information on its forthcoming major project is because of the lesson learnt from Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us Part 2.
There will be 2 Games
The two games’ announcements came years before their actual release dates, which put a lot of strain on the production team. As Druckmann pointed out “We might have played about with the timetable more by postponing that announcement, and we are now more aware of how we are approaching manufacturing. He continues, “There’s our [The Last of Us] multiplayer project and there’s another project that’s beyond that, that we’re also extremely eager for, but I won’t say anything about.”
Interview with ComicBook
In the same interview with ComicBook, Druckmann stated that Naughty Dog is “more mindful today about how we’re approaching production.” He also mentioned “another project” and the multiplayer version of The Last of Us on Naughty Dog’s forthcoming game schedule. “I will not reveal anything about that’s beyond that that we’re also extremely thrilled for,” Druckmann said in reference to this game. According to Naughty Dog, it may release The Last of Us: Part III after or an other game, which may be the studio’s reported new IP. The Last of Us, an HBO TV series and accompanying podcast, will debut on January 15 in the near future.
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Studios Including Naughty Dog Under Pressure
Numerous studios, including Naughty Dog, have come under pressure to reduce the number of “crunch” periods—the phrase used in the business for prolonged periods of excessive working hours. People who come to work at Naughty Dog in 2020, according to Druckmann, “know that they are going to work really hard.”
Following that, Druckmann and Evan Wells, the other co-president of Naughty Dog, disputed the notion that developers’ unionisation would reduce crunch. Wells added, “I don’t know if that would be a solution to crunch,” adding that some engineers could feel “handcuffed” if their workweeks were restricted to 40 hours. Unionization by itself, according to Druckmann, won’t resolve the issue.
Naughty Dog will not Revealing More Games
Now, things are getting better, as Druckmann has indicated that Naughty Dog would no longer disclose games quite so far in advance of their official release date. He stated that by delaying announcements, the development teams are granted the ability to “play with the schedule more,” which ultimately avoids the mad rush to make sure a game is ready for a given launch date expected by hungry fans. He also stated that by delaying announcements, the development teams are granted the ability to “play with the schedule more.”
In the past, Naughty Dog has been a victim of “crunch culture,” and the company’s reputation suffered as a direct result of this mistake. Within the production company, there is a strong desire to achieve a better work-life balance and stay away from the crunch as much as possible. This is going to be a huge year for video games, and it looks like the announcement for ‘Factions’ is getting closer all the time.
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A better Work Life Balance
It may be better for the health and work-life balance of creators to announce titles later, but in the case of Naughty Dog, we already know that their next release is most likely going to be a multiplayer spin-off of The Last of Us. This may be healthier for the health of the developers. Therefore, despite the fact that a launch date has not been disclosed as of yet, there will undoubtedly be a significant number of individuals who have already begun to build up their anticipation for that game.
To Conclude
The award-winning PlayStation studio Naughty Dog, which created The Last of Us and Uncharted, has several new games in development. However, we won’t likely learn anything about them for a while as the company recently announced a new strategy for protecting all parties involved when announcing and launching games. Neil Druckmann, co-president of the Naughty Dog studio, recently spoke with ComicBook about the studio’s future and how mistakes made during the Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us Part 2 launch cycles taught the team and management important lessons.
