Even as PlayStation 5 owners look forward to a line-up of awesome upcoming first-party releases, including Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Gran Turismo 7, God of War: Ragnarok, and Horizon Forbidden West, one studio's unannounced work stands apart. Naughty Dog, the developer of the Uncharted and The Last of Us franchises, is working on something new. And while Naughty Dog's new project has yet to be announced, a concept artist's recent post may hint at what PS5 fans can look forward to.
Few could have predicted that Naughty Dog's next project may not be tied to Uncharted or The Last of Us, however. Rather, Naughty Dog may be working on a fantasy game instead. Naughty Dog senior concept artist Hyoung Nam recently shared three pieces of concept art on their ArtStation account. The three pieces feature women with heavy fantasy themes. The text associated with the post reads, "Inspire from new game. You know what I'm talking about..."
In one piece, a woman holds a sword while sitting next to a defeated dragon or lizard. A second image shows a woman with a skull headpiece and a staff adorned by a human skull. The two look like they could easily fit into a Dungeons & Dragons story. The third image is less clearly fantasy related, looking more like a tribal NPC from Horizon Zero Dawn. Nevertheless, they could fit into a fantasy game with the other two.
The three characters are clearly a major deviation from Naughty Dog's previous games. But while Naughty Dog fans may be inclined to assume they're related to the studio's in-development project, that may not be the case. The issue is with Nam's description of the image, as well as the fact that they'd publish these images at all. Suffice to say, a senior concept artist isn't likely to be low-key announcing a major game on their ArtStation.
The important thing to take away from Nam's wording is that the pieces are inspired by "a" new game and not necessarily Naughty Dog's new game. These pieces could be inspired by Dragon Age 4 or Horizon Forbidden West, for example. As an artist, Nam probably makes fan art for all sorts of games apart from their Naughty Dog work.
As such, it's best that Naughty Dog fans take this rumor with a major grain of salt. The three pieces of art from Nam are certainly intriguing, as is the possibility of Naughty Dog making a fantasy game. But without further evidence of such, it's best to assume that folks are likely reaching for a conclusion that isn't accurate. Naughty Dog's next game will be revealed when it's ready.
Source: ArtStation