Developer Naughty Dog has said it may return to the Uncharted series and hasn’t ruled out the possibility of developing Uncharted 5.
In the lead-up to the release of the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, GamesRadarspoke to Shaun Escayg, creative director on Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and cinematic animator on Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, about the upcoming title.
Asked about the future of the franchise, Margenau said the possibility of Naughty Dog making another Uncharted game was still alive. "I think we can say for certain that we can never say never,” Escayg said.
“Uncharted is a franchise we love – that the studio loves. I love, and Kurt loves. It's a world we want to see more of. So I can certainly say that,” he added. The last mainline game to release in the series was 2016’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, followed by the standalone expansion Lost Legacy the year after.
Alongside the Legacy of Thieves Collection, which ports Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy to PS5 and PC, the next installment in the franchise is the Uncharted film, starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg.
Analysis: Uncharted without Nathan Drake
It would be tempting to think Naughty Dog has moved on from Uncharted. Over four years since the release of the series’ last installment, and with the roaring success of The Last of Us still echoing in the ears of eager fans, Nathan Drake’s treasure-hunting escapades could well be a thing of the past. After all, series creator Amy Hennig left Naughty Dog back in 2014, and no future releases in the series have been teased by Sony.
Although Escayg’s comments to GamesRadar don’t suggest anything concrete, they make clear that Naughty Dog remains open to developing future Uncharted titles. With protagonist Nathan Drake’s storyline fittingly wrapped up in Uncharted 4, it wouldn’t be surprising if any future games centered on one or more secondary characters, much like Lost Legacy did.
There are plenty to choose from. Alongside Lost Legacy's Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross, Drake's business partner Sully and his brother Sam make for fitting protagonists, and even team up at the end of the fourth game.
Don’t be expecting a new Uncharted game soon, though. With the film releasing soon on the big screen, publisher Sony might be poised to let the franchise’s extended material do most of the money-making legwork, while Naughty Dog pursues other creative video game projects on the small screen and, likely, gets to work on The Last of Us 3.
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