HBO's recent show The Last of Us has proven to be a massive success, with the recent culmination of its first season being met with widespread critical acclaim. With the show of course being directly based on Naughty Dog's gaming franchise of the same name, the recent HBO show has done wonders in terms of introducing the narrative of the franchise to a much wider audience.
Many are now wondering what the long-term benefits of The Last of Us show and its wide-scale viewership will have on the games themselves, but it is also worth wondering what impact the show will have on other Naughty Dog projects. With this in mind, many fans are starting to look toward Naughty Dog's rumored sci-fi title, which may be set within The Last of Us universe and thus may have been greatly helped by the recent success of the show.
Naughty Dog's Rumored Sci-Fi Title
With such a great amount of attention being placed on Naughty Dog and its associated projects, it is perhaps predictable that so many rumors have surfaced regarding the company over the years. While many of these rumors are purely the point of conjecture, some of them appear to hold a level of validity and believability, with rumors that Naughty Dog is developing a dedicated sci-fi game being one of them.
These rumors have persisted for quite some time within the Naughty Dog fan base, but have remained persistent thanks to clues and theories that make the mysterious title within the realm of possibility. Considering that Naughty Dog IPs such as The Last of Us and Uncharted offer relatively grounded experiences, it is clear why fans are so excited at the prospect of a bombastic and high-tech Naughty Dog sci-fi release.
The Last of Us and Naughty Dog's Sci-Fi Game
Naughty Dog is infamous for hinting at its future projects within its releases, with The Last of Us originally being teased within the Uncharted franchise long before it was officially announced. With this mind, many have scoured The Last of Us for potential nods to Naughty Dog's next projects, and one recurring aspect of the apocalyptic games sticks out above all else.
Throughout The Last of Us franchise, the player can acquire collectibles that take the form of comics and cards referencing a fictional in-universe sci-fi IP known as Savage Starlight. Via these collectibles, fans have been able to deduce a general plot for Savage Starlight, which sees Dr. Daniela Star traveling through space in the year 2186, fighting against an antagonistic alien force known as the Travelers.
Many believe that the Savage Starlight collectibles are a fairly overt hint at the long-rumored sci-fi project for Naughty Dog, with the game being directly tied to The Last of Us by existing within the franchise's game world. If this is to be the case, then the recent success of HBO's The Last of Us could offer a perfect launching point for Naughty Dog to go official on these rumors.
Of course, a new Naughty Dog project would be sure to attract swathes of attention in and of itself, but the tangible link between a Savage Starlight project and The Last of Us would only increase its appeal and scope of reference to consumers even further. While it remains to be seen whether Naughty Dog will develop a Savage Starlight project, the now massive audience that The Last of Us possesses across TV and gaming would surely only serve to greatly ease the introduction of the sci-fi title to fans.
The Last of Us is streaming on HBO Max.