The Last Of Us Remake Coming From Naughty Dog, Report Says
A report also mentions a new Uncharted game was in development, while Days Gone will not get a sequel.
A new report from Bloomberg has shed some light on the goings-on at PlayStation, and it appears that despite The Last of Us only releasing in 2013, Naughty Dog is already developing a remake. The report also mentioned that Days Gone studio Sony Bend was developing a new Uncharted game and that Days Gone will not get a sequel.
Sony's Visual Arts Service Group, based in San Diego, has typically supported other Sony studios in the past. However, the studio is said to have begun its attempts to remake The Last of Us about three years ago.
Visual Arts Service Group founder Michael Mumbauer recruited about 30 people, from inside Sony and out, to create a new division that would develop a remake of The Last of Us for PS5, Bloomberg said. The team didn't get funding or support and Sony elected to shift development on the Last of Us remake to Naughty Dog, according to the report.
Mumbauer has since left the company, along with others who worked there. A spokesperson for Sony declined to comment.
The report also mentions that Days Gone studio Sony Bend pitched a sequel to the game, but it apparently did not move ahead despite the commercial success of the first game. Instead of working on a sequel, one team at Sony Bend is now assisting Naughty Dog "a multiplayer game."
The report doesn't say what the game is, but it was previously announced that Naughty Dog is making standalone Last of Us multiplayer game. Another team inside Sony Bend was put to work on a "new Uncharted game" with Naughty Dog overseeing the project, according to the report.
Some higher-ups at Sony Bend were reportedly unhappy about working on Uncharted, and asked to be removed from the game. Sony agreed, according to the report, and Sony Bend is now making "a new game of their own." In the past, Bend has worked on the Syphon Filter series as well as the Vita game Uncharted: Golden Abyss, so this wouldn't have been the first time it worked on Naughty Dog's series.
Naughty Dog has said it won't make another Uncharted game, but the studio previously mentioned that a different studio could come in to make Uncharted 5. It seems that still remains a possibility, even if Sony Bend isn't doing it.
Also in the report, it's mentioned that Mumbauer's team initially wanted to do a remake of the original Uncharted game, but the game "quickly fizzled" due to costs and other issues. So the team moved on to make a remake of The Last of Us with an idea to release it in a package with The Last of Us 2 for PS5.
The new PlayStation Studios boss, Hermen Hulst, said the Last of Us remake was too expensive due to its new engine for PS5 and gameplay redesigns, according to the report.
Instead, Sony put Mumbauer's team to work on The Last of Us II as a co-developer with Naughty Dog to help polish the game, the report said. After The Last of Us II was finished, Sony reportedly asked some developers from Naughty Dog to help Mumbauer's team with the Last of Us remake, but the game later reportedly shifted to Naughty Dog's internal team.
The Last of Us remake, which is said to be known as T1X, is still in development at Naughty Dog with help from Visual Arts Support Group, the report said.
Former God of War and Twisted Metal David Jaffe also revealed he had hinted at this news a few days prior to the report with a cryptic post on Twitter. Rather than be a broad message, it was essentially coded to draw attention to The Last of Us.
It's one of multiple titles that could be in the works at Naughty Dog, as the studio is also developing the previously announced Last of Us multiplayer game. Outside of that, Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann has said the studio might make The Last of Us 3 or a new IP.
Sony has already revived The Last of Us in some form, in 2014 releasing a remastered edition of the PS3 original for PS4. The series continues to be very popular, and just recently, HBO announced that Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey will star in a TV show based on it. If we get the game remake as well, that means there will be three distinct versions of the same story to experience.
Go to Bloomberg to read the full report, which has more details on what is said to be going on inside Sony/PlayStation.
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