Neil Druckmann Reveals New Naughty Dog Game Has Been In Development Since 2020

Summary

• Naughty Dog's new game has been in development since 2020.
• Details are incredibly scarce, but we at least know that it's not The Last of Us Part 3.

As highlighted by Reddit user VFB-Fan93, Neil Druckmann revealed in a recent online panel called "Jewish Visionaries in Gaming" that Naughty Dog's next game has been in development since 2020, the same year that The Last of Us Part 2 launched.

We don't know what state the game is in, but going by typical development cycles, we can take a rough guess, somewhere around late 2025 to 2026. That makes sense when you consider that we're entering the final years of this generation and the studio still hasn't released a new game yet.

As for when we can expect a formal announcement, Druckmann says that the ball is in Sony's court. Reputable insider Jeff Grubb shot down rumours of a State of Play happening in December, so in all likelihood, we'll hear about the game during a showcase next year.

Everything We Know About Naughty Dog's New Game

Details are incredibly scarce on Naughty Dog's newest project right now, but we have a few rumours, leaks, and vague comments to go off of.

Druckmann revealed in February that the studio's next game isn't The Last of Us Part 3 (that's coming later), so we know it's at least not a sequel to Ellie and Abby's story.

Reports surfaced last month that there will be an emphasis on "player freedom", and Druckmann has said that he is "intrigued" by Elden Ring and Inside's less traditional storytelling.

It's long been rumoured that Naughty Dog is working on a fantasy game, but the leakers who made that claim also allege that Druckmann is not involved in the project. Since Druckmann himself said that Sony gave him complete control over Naughty Dog's next game, it's unlikely then to be the rumoured fantasy one.

That brings us back to square one. It's probably not the fantasy game and it's definitely not The Last of Us Part 3. What we do know, however, is that Druckmann said that he's interested in "trying something a little bit new, a little bit different". Odds are then, we can expect a new IP. It's not a lot to go off of, I did says details were scarce, but hopefully we'll find out more next year.

Naughty Dog

Part of PlayStation Studios, Naughty Dog has a long history of creating great games for the platform, from Crash Bandicoot to Jak & Daxter. It is perhaps better known now for the smash hit series The Last Of Us and Uncharted, games that push the boundaries of great storytelling and action-packed set pieces.