Why PS4 Uncharted Collection Doesn't Include Golden Abyss

Upcoming PlayStation 4 game Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection includes remastered versions of the three PlayStation 3 games, but not PlayStation Vita entry Golden Abyss. Now, Naughty Dog has explained why the SCE Bend-developed 2012 mobile spinoff is not featured in the package.

Speaking at Europe's EGX convention this weekend, Naughty Dog community strategist Arne Meyer revealed that adding Golden Abyss to the collection was "definitely under consideration." However, it was ultimately decided that the three PS3 games--Drake's Fortune, Among Thieves, and Drake's Deception--would be sufficient to set up the story for 2016's Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.

"We realized that those three games--the trilogy--actually provided a particular narrative arc that led into Uncharted 4," Meyer told Power Up Gaming. "We wanted to keep that as a holistic collection for that reason, and Golden Abyss kind of lives a little bit outside of that."

Golden Abyss is the only entry in the series (apart from the card game Uncharted: Fight for Fortune) developed outside of Naughty Dog. Reviews for the game were generally positive; GameSpot's review scored Golden Abyss a 7.

The Nathan Drake Collection launches on October 8 exclusively for PS4, though you can play a free demo starting September 29. In addition to 1080p/60fps versions of the three Uncharted games, players can look forward to, among other things, new difficulty options and a Photo Mode. Everyone who buys the collection also gets access to the Uncharted 4: A Thief's End multiplayer beta, which runs December 4-13 on PS4.

The collection was developed by Bluepoint Games (Titanfall for Xbox 360, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale for PS Vita).

Our Nathan Drake Collection review is coming soon, but for now, you can watch us play through part of the game in the video above. You can also read up on the game's day one patch and see its file size.