All articles tagged with #naughty dog
A social-media misquote claimed Sony was angry at Naughty Dog for the PS5 era's lack of a new title, but journalist Jason Schreier clarified his comment, explaining the concern was about cost and development timelines—not anger toward Naughty Dog, highlighting how quotes can be taken out of context and go viral.
To celebrate Uncharted 4's 10th anniversary, Naughty Dog is offering four free PSN avatars for PS5 via region-specific codes, with an animated PS5 background coming later this month and a short message from Nolan North.
A long-form video by Thekempy reveals Uncharted 4’s original vision after Amy Hennig’s departure, including cut storylines and playable characters like Sully and Henry Avery, plus early motion-capture footage. The material contrasts with the 2016 Druckmann-led version and offers a rare glimpse at the game that almost was, while noting Naughty Dog’s current projects and teasing possible future Uncharted entries.
As Uncharted marks its 20th anniversary since Drake’s Fortune reveal and the 10th anniversary of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, the piece traces how Naughty Dog’s globetrotting adventure helped redefine cinematic, third‑person storytelling, notes leadership shifts under Druckmann that solidified the studio’s post‑Last of Us era, highlights Uncharted 4’s status as the series’ best‑selling entry, and explains fans’ ongoing speculation about future projects (including potential Uncharted returns and other Naughty Dog ventures) after the franchise’s sporadic 2020s presence and film adaptation.
A 1.27-hour documentary reveals Amy Hennig’s version of Uncharted 4, highlighting numerous cut levels, alternate story beats, and cast changes (including Alan Tudyk as Rafe and Todd Stashwick as Sam). It also references scrapped mechanics and an underwater Reef sequence, illustrating how the game could have diverged from Naughty Dog’s final release.
A former Naughty Dog artist says Joel’s brutal death at the start of The Last of Us Part II was controversial inside the studio, with staff split on the outcome even before the game's release; the reveal coincided with a wave of online abuse toward the cast, and studio head Neil Druckmann prepared actors for the backlash.
Former Naughty Dog director Vinit Agarwal, whose The Last of Us Online multiplayer was cancelled after ~80% completion, vows that his future projects will not be kept from the light of day again, thanking supporters as he describes the cancellation as a messaging decision that cut short what teammates and fans saw as an amazing standalone multiplayer effort.
Naughty Dog developers say The Last of Us Online would have been the best multiplayer game they’ve ever played; the project was roughly 80% complete after seven years of work and funding during Covid, but Sony shifted the team to Intergalactic instead of launching the multiplayer title.
A former senior Naughty Dog designer says crunch was ingrained in the studio’s workflow, with internal discussions implying it’s necessary to make games at their level; despite efforts to mitigate crunch after The Last of Us Part II, insiders and Bloomberg report the pattern has resurfaced during Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet’s development to meet internal milestones and a Sony demo, suggesting a continued cycle of overtime driven by deadlines.
A former Naughty Dog employee claims crunch culture intensified after Uncharted and The Last of Us and was effectively accepted by leadership as the price of making games at the studio’s level, with internal deadlines treated as external ones and bonuses tied to extra work. Refusing crunch could lead to a negative recommendation letter, and the studio is described as leaning into crunch, including cases like Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
A viral claim about a new Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet PlayStation page is debunked: the site has existed in its current form since January 2025, long after the game's 2024 reveal. There’s no new information or gameplay teased, just a recycled page on PlayStation.com confirmed by Archive.org. The project remains a Naughty Dog PS5 exclusive with a potential 2027 release window, so the page isn’t new evidence of more imminent news.
Former Naughty Dog artist Del Walker reveals Condor from Highguard and says he will continue making games but won’t work on live-service titles, citing Highguard’s shutdown and his commitment to keep featuring diverse Black women in games.
Naughty Dog is enforcing mandatory overtime to meet deadlines for its PS5 exclusive game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, aiming for a mid-2027 release, amid concerns about ongoing crunch and project delays.
A Bloomberg report claims Naughty Dog mandated employees to work at least eight extra hours weekly, reaching up to 60 hours, over the past seven weeks to meet project deadlines, with increased in-office work disrupting routines. The studio has not commented on these claims.
Naughty Dog is reportedly experiencing crunch again for its upcoming PS5 game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, with mandatory overtime and increased in-office requirements despite previous efforts to address overwork issues, raising concerns about the studio's work culture.