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 purported Days Gone 2 pitch had allegedly been rejected by Sony, a The Last of Us remake has supposedly entered early development after an Uncharted remake 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 new Uncharted game, separate from its remake pitch. The fate of said Uncharted game is unclear based on the report.
Depending on the actual fate of Sony Bend's project, the Uncharted franchise may be headed to a similar fate as Jak and Daxter. One of Naughty Dog's earliest success on the PS2, Jak and Daxter was 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 Legacy through Jak 3) saw great success, but later spin-offs and a cancelled sequel seemingly bookended the franchise altogether. Naughty Dog's Uncharted doesn't have to follow the same fate, but this news seems to be emulating the same trend Jak and Daxter took before its last game was cancelled.
The Uncharted Series May See An Unceremonious End
Much like Jak and Daxter did back in the early 2000s, Uncharted had a really solid quartet of games, without including fantastic spin-offs like The Lost Legacy and Golden 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, the Jak and Daxter trilogy on PS2 was also iconic, but it didn't take long after Jak 3's release before the franchise fell to the wayside in favor of new prospects. Many fans will remember that Naughty Dog's Jak 4 project was scrapped and transitioned into what would become The Last of Us.
This new Uncharted project being developed at Sony Bend could potentially be following a similar trend, according to the Bloomberg report. In the wake of Days 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 that Uncharted project was still in development, or if it was ultimately cancelled. Similar to Jak 4's development leading into The Last of Us, perhaps Sony Bend transitioned its ideas into an original IP, and thus the Uncharted project may have been scrapped.
Bringing Uncharted Back Is Possible, With a New Protagonist
Even though its a similar development history to how the Jak and Daxter franchise ended, Uncharted as a franchise doesn't have to necessarily be retired like Naughty Dog's previous icons. Up until this point, the Uncharted series was hinged on the character development and stories of Nathan Drake. Drake quickly become the iconic centerpiece of the Uncharted series, but the franchise is certainly adaptable enough where that doesn't have to be the case permanently.
In a way, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy proved that point, at least partially. Despite being a spin-off based on Uncharted 4, The Lost Legacy saw surprising success in focusing a self-contained narrative on Chloe and Nadine's quest to find the Tusk of Ganesh, months after the end of Uncharted 4. Even though his brother Sam shows up towards the end, Nathan Drake is nowhere to be found in The Lost Legacy. Despite that fact, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy saw 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 new Uncharted game would almost certainly install a new mainstay protagonist, regardless of whether or not that's Chloe, Sam, or someone else entirely. The beauty of Lost Legacy is that it at least proves that Uncharted isn'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 with Uncharted. The series overarching formula and narrative design doesn't have to be tethered to the Drakes, as there's certainly plenty of influential explorers and popular myths of treasure throughout world history worth exploring. Assassin's Creed has done the same thing with ending Ezio's trilogy in Assassin's Creed Revelations, and since then exploring various other aspects of history. While Ubisoft has seen varying degrees of success in its flagship franchise, Uncharted could take a similar approach.
As for who that new Uncharted hero would be, it's hard to discern. The cop out answer would be Nathan Drake's daughter, based on the tease at the end of Uncharted 4, but even that's not likely. Uncharted's return would presumably start anew, and it would be far better for it regardless.
