Last week Naughty Dog set the Internet ablaze during a livestream in which an employee said the now infamous words "The first Last of Us." That would seem to imply that a sequel to one of the highest rated games in recent memory is on the way, but that's not exactly the case, according to The Last of Us creative director Neil Druckmann.
In a new interview with Official PlayStation Magazine, Druckmann says he and the rest of the team at Naughty Dog were just as surprised as the rest of the world when voice actor Nolan North stated a sequel to The Last of Us was in the works a few months back at a convention.
"I can say that was kind of a surprise for us for him to say that," Druckmann says.
He goes on by saying that there was a grain of truth to North's words. A small group within Naughty Dog was brainstorming what the developer's next game after Uncharted 4 would be, though those ideas weren't limited to The Last of Us 2.
"The answer is - and this is totally honest, and I've said this in the past - that when Bruce (Straley) and I moved over to Uncharted 4, we were brainstorming ideas for The Last Of Us 2 with new characters; ideas for TLOU 2 with Joel and Ellie; ideas for a sci-fi game; ideas for a fantasy game, and building prototypes for each one of those ideas," he says.
Then Druckmann and the rest of the group were all moved over to help finish Uncharted 4. Currently nobody at the studio is working on another game, according to Druckmann.
"So, I guess he (North) was kind of right in that we were working on stuff, but we don't know what we're doing next and we won't know until probably a few months after we finish Uncharted 4," he says.
It looks like the words spoken in last week's Naughty Dog livesteam may have been a simple error and not confirmation of a sequel to The Last of Us. Still, some of Druckmann's comments come as exciting news for fans. The game ended so perfectly that a sequel seems like it may ruin some of the charm by exploring what happens to Joel and Ellie after the events of the first game. Naughty Dog is also exploring the idea of a Last of Us sequel starring a whole new group of characters seems like a great way to avoid stepping on the toes of the first game while still building upon the successful gameplay elements and world building already established.
Whatever Naughty Dog decides, it will be several years before we see the fruit of their labor. Uncharted 4 is set to release on March 18 for PlayStation 4, with production on the studio's next game beginning some time after.
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