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Naughty Dog currently has two projects in development that we know of. There's the The Last of Us Multiplayer, which we'll learn more about this year, and there's something else beyond that — presumably a new property, or a new The Last of Us. And while the wait for any kind of concrete information on the Factions revival has been a drawn-out affair, the developer is actually very wary of revealing its secret title too soon.
In an interview with ComicBook.com, studio boss Neil Druckmann says that announcing a game well in advance can be detrimental to the development team. "We did announce Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us: Part II way in advance, but that actually caused a little bit of the work-life balance issues that we've sometimes had at the studio," Druckmann admits.
He goes on to reference Naughty Dog's unknown project: "By delaying that announcement a bit, we could play with the schedule more and we're more conscious now about how we're approaching production. So there's our multiplayer project and there's another project that I will not say anything about that's beyond that that we're also very much excited for."
Indeed, numerous publishers and developers have been criticised for announcing their games far too early over the years. Square Enix is an example that immediately springs to mind with its Final Fantasy series — and it's something that can definitely have a negative impact on the expectations surrounding a project.
Although in Naughty Dog's case, it sounds like lessons have been learned. Hopefully the wait for The Last of Us Multiplayer will have been worth it, and as far as we're concerned, the PlayStation Studios developer can keep its next next title under wraps until it knows it's ready to go.
Do you dislike it when games are announced far too early? What do you actually want from Naughty Dog's secret project? Only speak when the time comes in the comments section below.
[source comicbook.com, via naughtydogcentral.com]
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That's a good shift in PR strategy. Nintendo has been mostly (not always) following this strategy successfully.
@tameshiyaku Definitely feels like the big publishers are getting the hang of this now. SEGA and Capcom in particular (outside of Pragmata and maybe Dragon's Dogma 2) have been great at announcing a title and then releasing it within a six-eight month window or so.
Good.
Looking forward to the reveal of Factions though. They've been working on it for so long that it's bound to be more than a simple TLOU2 multiplayer mode. Will it have a story campaign? I also really enjoyed the TLOU2 gameplay loop, so I definitely would like to see how that plays out in a mp setting.
This is how it should be. Let people know that you have a project in the works so they know there's something to look forward to, but don't give any details until it's nearly a finished product.
Its probably because its another remaster/remake for £70...
I hope it’s a new IP (especially that fantasy themed game that’s been rumoured).
I’m glad that, at least from the outside, it looks like Naughty Dog is making strides for improving workplace culture, not feeling the pressure to announce things early as well as their recent shift to including more producer roles will ultimately be best for everyone. It doesn’t forgive the alleged hardship the devs experienced with TLOU2, but it does bring good signs for the future.
Please be UC5 or TLOU 3 😍 🤣🙏😃. Or a new I. P.
I hate early announcements. Tell me when it’s out in 6-8 months. Knowing about it longer than that seems pointless to me, other than to get investors satisfied.
That's good. I hope Naughty Dog is able to announce the game instead of a leak.
The multiplayer was alot of fun of the PS3 and PS4 version. Can't wait to play this, especially if it's like the gameplay of part 2.
What do you all think the right time to trailer and reveal a game for the first time is before release?
2 years, 1year 6 months?
This is definitely how it should be.
In terms on Naughty Dog though.... let us be honest, they announced the next iteration of the multiplayer game would be developed and released alongside TLOU2 (development started in 2014). Then in 2019 they pivoted on that and said it would be its own thing. Following that just last year he said it had only been in development for 2 years suggesting it was never actual in full production alongside TLOU2 and only started in 2019 or 2020.
Feels like that was and still is ALOT of announcing things too early, and dare I say prioritizing more resources toward quick turnaround profits by rereleasing old content.
My view of Naughty Dog has significantly soured in recent years following the Uncharted and TLOU pt 1 releases and the rumored upcoming TLOU2 directors cut (another cash grab rerelease). Their entire business model as of late seems stale and void of creative freedom and ambition. I hope one day they return to form but I suspect success and growth has tainted them as much as it has most once great, now large operandi following the capitalist model..
I think it would greatly serve them and Sony to focus on an entirely new IP just like guerilla and sucker punch did. It completely refreshed their image and still maintained their pedigree and maybe if they pursuit something different enough
It may offer a little more diversity than just a bunch of third person narrative driven, heavily scripted fodder they copy and paste release over and over (which has been the status quo for Playstation for some time now).
I love the slow drip feed of information more than being bombarded with info miles ahead of a release. Start the promotional stuff 6 months beforehand, with 3 months putting out the big reveals. Personally, I'd love to see Uncharted 5, still my favourite games for the PlayStation.
Hopefully a new IP would be great, I enjoy the last of us. But something new would be more exciting.
Good because I think they've handled Factions exceedingly badly.
@MasterChiefWiggum haha that display pic. Mona DECENT.
Thanks! Nice to meet a fellow TPB fan! This picture still cracks me up.
@MrDoug91 100% agree. Wait until you have a release date you know you’re going hit before setting that release date. I personally don’t mind delays, especially if it ends up being a better, more polished game. But if you don’t set a release date before you’re ready, it can’t even be called a delay.
Hope this new project is a complete new single player ip 🤞
@Bingbongboyo I hear ya man!
For a game I know pretty much nothing about, Factions is one of my most anticipated games. I love anything naughty dog put out so I’ve zero doubts I’ll love this
@EVIL-C uncharted is being made by a new studio with the help of nd. So it’s not that
@Octane they said it turned out a lot bigger of a project then they planned. It sounds lmore like a full last of us mp game which if done right sounds pretty good.
Multiplayer game will fall flat. It's been ages since we had a good naughty dog game. Lou2 was mediocre. I don think druckman wants another uncharted game coz he wasn't in the spotlight when they did well, even though he had a hand in them. Naughty dog is a joke nowadays.
Rockstar are notorious for releasing info an trailers right at the last minute, they hold off for ages.
I think they actually have three games in development. The last of us factions that we know of and I think the next game will be a new IP that is probably further along than we think, and my belief is they will release the last of us part 3 to end the generation, like with the last two games in the series. Or maybe I just hope that is what they do 🤔 😂
I would like there to be a law on when you announce a game to release date. Example I have is State Of Decay (I know it's Xbox) they announced it in 2020. Have not heard anything since.
Lost interest in ND after the last couple of years and how they treated Amy and Bruce. Seems like egomaniacs running the show now after the real talent was forced out.
Last of us multiplayer is my most wanted PS5 title. I know i have to wait, and i am ok with that. But i have loads of excitement for what this will look and play like. I am a multiplayer guy. Always have been, sure it comes with its share of disadvantages and disappointments but i love that style of game. Theres days where i just want to sit back and play a great story single player experience and Sony has in my opinion the best of those types of games. But it’s not a secret that sony is lacking in multiplayer titles and i am excited they have intent to fix that.
Please god don't let the game after Factions be TLOU Part 3. Thar series needs a break. If there game after Factions isn't a new IP they are really going to start looking like a one trick pony.
Went the whole of the PS4 without a new IP from Naughty Dog, that's what I'm looking forward to most and want next.
Cyberpunk promo campaign did its dirty job.
That is all I would like to say on the subject matter.
Xbox since November 2019 showcases perfectly why it's best to wait until closer to launch:
@jrt87
Yup, I’m not interested in anything a Neil Druckmann led Naughty Dog is putting out. He absolutely destroyed TLOU2 and ruined the franchise for like half the fan base.
Read/Listen to staff interviews from UC4 and TLOU2… it’s horrific what has happened to that company under that guy.
They probably don't want us to know their secret project: "The Abby gym simulator" ... and the DLC "Personal golf lessons with Abby"!
@Dezzy70 Before they even decide on what they are making...
Seriously though, I'd say a year at the most. As much as I don't care about The Last of Us multiplayer as I only play single player games, what Naughty Dog has done here with saying they are making something else in the meantime works.
@MasterChiefWiggum its bubbles! who's got ya belly uh huh and that other oldie liquor and ..... The ***** rockers rule Lol
Just as it should be.
Spares us a lot of social media drama. Whatever they are working on, there will always be unsatisfied gamers that will start whining on and on for months on end.
It would be best to announce games when they are 100% sure of the final launch date also, to spare everyone of even more social media and news drama.
And it also spares the devs from receiving threats and malicious comments from the more extremist "fans". Against which, for now at least, there are no worldwide laws that can be applied. So the perpetrators mostly go unpunished even for death threats.
@Dezzy70 I think about 11 years from announcement to release is about right. I have such fond memories of that decade I spent getting hyped for Final Fantasy Versus XIII/XV. Brilliant marketing strategy, kept me from buying any other games from 2006-2017, and now it will be up to my grandkids’ grandkids to work through my backlog. I’ve already revoked their college savings accounts so they’ll have more time to focus on gaming.
@Grumblevolcano as a series X owner, i agree with you, however it did put to bed that MS has no games in development. Now that they did that, i don’t see the need to announce the next wave of titles so earlier. As a PS5 owner they did much better learning from announcing games to early from the PS4 generation. So I appreciate that. Nintendo is pretty good at not saying anything to soon, building hype for a few months and dropping the title. It’s even been said some Nintendo games are finished and they sit on them until they are ready to launch them. Not sure if thats true or not, but if so, thats a very structural release cycle.
Yeah, I'm still going to look forward to Knack 3 before anything good from ND again at this point...
@Zuljaras Don't forget the new IP: TLoU Part 3: Racing!
@Grumblevolcano Metroid Prime 4 puts XGS to shame though. It's getting close to Deep Down level meme bait at this point. Bayo3 was getting close too.
Though FF7R may get the W. Announced 2014, part 1 of 3 released 2020, part 3: ???.
Naughty Dog learned after having to delay TLOU2 a few times.
I wish more devs would follow suit and not provide a release date OR timeline if they aren’t confident they can get the game to the state they intend to release it in by then. Any announced timelines should also include ample built-in time for unforeseen issues.
@NEStalgia I'd say the XGS situation's worse. Prime 4 was announced too early but at least Nintendo were transparent about the full development restart in January 2019. Taking that into account, 2023 sounds about right for a re-reveal (probably the next Direct).
@Grumblevolcano Kind of the same really. The XGS announcements are only 2-3 years old. MP4 was, what, 5 years ago along with Bayo3 that only just dropped after no word for years. And the XGS announcements were fairly clear they were long-term early announcements, the Outer Worlds 2 trailer even made fun of the fact that it was so early announcement it didn't know what it even was going to be.
For MP4 Id actually be surprised if it lands on current hardware. That would pretty much be a repeat of the Last Guardian saga, announced as a PS3 launch title, finally released mid-PS4. MP4 was one of the Switch year 1 hype titles and may not come out until Switch 2.
Hopefully they use better running animations in the next game. Most games can’t seem to get that right.
I'm hoping it's either The Last of Us Part II: Director's Cut or The Last of Us III.
Either that or them bringing back the Jak series, a Savage Starlight game, or Uncharted 1-3 being remade for PS5.
I seem to be the only one who is left cold by Naughty Dog games. The Last Of Us 2 was kind of ok I guess but I never want to play it again.
I don’t understand why modern games are often so desperate to be interactive movies.
I much prefer games that are ‘gamey’.
@fromjtov I agree but I think it’s more important to get a game right before releasing it. I’m happy to wait through delays or long development cycles if the game is finished and polished.
when I hear Naughty Dog talk now a days " BLAH, TO DA BLAH, BLAHHHH , BLAHH, BLAHH, BLAHHHHH"
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