After a report by Bloomberg detailed some of the struggles behind Sony’s biggest game studios, tons of new information came to light surrounding PlayStation’s first-party development. A purportedDays Gone 2pitch had allegedly been rejected by Sony, aThe Last of Usremake has supposedly entered early development after anUnchartedremake pitch was rejected, among other details behind the scenes. However, one interesting portion of the story that wasn’t elaborated on was that Sony Bend had undergone pre-production on a newUnchartedgame, separate from its remake pitch. The fate of saidUnchartedgame is unclear based on the report.
Depending on the actual fate of Sony Bend’s project, theUnchartedfranchise may be headed to a similar fate asJak and Daxter. One of Naughty Dog’s earliest success on the PS2,Jak and Daxterwas an ultimately successful and now-iconic platforming adventure game that had a bit of a rocky ending. The main trilogy itself (Jak and Daxter: The Precursor LegacythroughJak 3) saw great success, but later spin-offs and a cancelled sequel seemingly bookended the franchise altogether. Naughty Dog’sUncharteddoesn’t have to follow the same fate, but this news seems to be emulating the same trendJak and Daxtertook before its last game was cancelled.
The Uncharted Series May See An Unceremonious End
Much likeJak and Daxterdid back in the early 2000s,Unchartedhad a really solid quartet of games, without includingfantastic spin-offs likeThe Lost LegacyandGolden Abyss. Nathan Drake’s adventures came to define the PlayStation 3’s first-party offering, and helped establish Sony’s now-dominant first-party offering with PS4 and PS5. Similarly, theJak and Daxtertrilogy on PS2 was also iconic, but it didn’t take long afterJak 3’s release before the franchise fell to the wayside in favor of new prospects. Many fans will remember that Naughty Dog’sJak 4project was scrapped and transitioned into what would becomeThe Last of Us.
This newUnchartedproject being developed at Sony Bend could potentially be following a similar trend, according to the Bloomberg report. In the wake ofDays Gone 2’s pitch rejection, staff at Bend Studio were allegedly “unhappy with the arrangement and left,” which apparently led to Bend working on a completely new franchise instead. Jason Schreier, author of the article, mentioned that it was unclear whether or not thatUnchartedproject was still in development, or if it was ultimately cancelled. Similar toJak 4’s development leading intoThe Last of Us, perhaps Sony Bend transitioned its ideas into an original IP, and thus theUnchartedproject may have been scrapped.
RELATED:The Case for a Complete Jak and Daxter Reboot
Bringing Uncharted Back Is Possible, With a New Protagonist
Even though its a similar development history to how theJak and Daxterfranchise ended,Unchartedas a franchisedoesn’t have to necessarily be retired like Naughty Dog’s previous icons. Up until this point, theUnchartedseries was hinged on the character development and stories of Nathan Drake. Drake quickly become the iconic centerpiece of theUnchartedseries, but the franchise is certainly adaptable enough where that doesn’t have to be the case permanently.
In a way,Uncharted: The Lost Legacyproved that point, at least partially. Despite being a spin-off based onUncharted 4,The Lost Legacysaw surprising success in focusing a self-contained narrative on Chloe and Nadine’s quest to find the Tusk of Ganesh, months after the end ofUncharted 4. Even though his brother Sam shows up towards the end, Nathan Drake is nowhere to be found inThe Lost Legacy. Despite that fact,Uncharted: The Lost Legacysaw praise from fans and critics alike, resting at a comfortable 84 on Metacritic currently. Putting aside criticisms of some repetitive gameplay sequences, Chloe and Nadine’s story itself received largely favorable praise.
A newUnchartedgame would almost certainly install a new mainstay protagonist, regardless of whether or not that’s Chloe, Sam, or someone else entirely. The beauty ofLost Legacyis that it at least proves thatUnchartedisn’t inherently hinged to Nathan Drake’s character arc.Nathan’s story would certainly be a tough act to follow, considering his unique connection to real-life explorer Sir Francis Drake, and the compelling adventure of discovering his namesake’s treasure.
That being said, it wouldn’t be impossible to begin anew withUncharted. The series overarching formula and narrative design doesn’t have to be tethered to the Drakes, as there’s certainlyplenty of influential explorers and popular myths of treasurethroughout world history worth exploring.Assassin’s Creedhas done the same thing with ending Ezio’s trilogy inAssassin’s Creed Revelations, and since then exploring various other aspects of history. While Ubisoft has seen varying degrees of success in its flagship franchise,Unchartedcould take a similar approach.
As for who that newUnchartedhero would be, it’s hard to discern. The cop out answer would be Nathan Drake’s daughter, based on the tease at the end ofUncharted 4, but even that’s not likely.Uncharted’s return would presumably start anew, and it would be far better for it regardless.
MORE:Uncharted 5 Seems More Possible Now, But It Has One Big Challenge to Overcome
