Uncharted studio Naughty Dog is reportedly working on a next-gen remake of its massively popular 2013 post-apocalyptic action-adventure game, The Last of Us, for PlayStation 5. This is according to a report published today by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, who revealed that the remake was initially spearheaded by an unofficial team of developers formed by Visual Arts Service Group’s Michael Mumbauer, who has since left the Sony-owned, San Diego-based studio. Sony has scrapped those plans and handed the franchise back to its original makers.
NEW: In 2018, a small team of PlayStation developers tried to build their own studio to remake The Last of Us. Today, the game still exists but the studio doesn't. As we enter the PS5 era, Sony is avoiding risk and prioritizing its biggest teams. My story: https://t.co/c5gw8WuMVy
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) April 9, 2021
At the time, Naughty Dog was in the thick of development on the sequel, The Last of Us Part II, which would introduce higher-fidelity graphics and new gameplay features. If Mumbauer’s crew remade the first game to have a similar look and feel, the two games could be packaged together for the PlayStation 5. In theory, this would be a less expensive proposition than remaking Uncharted, since The Last of Us was more modern and wouldn’t require too many gameplay overhauls.
Source: Bloomberg