Interestingly enough, it seems as if Naughty Dog’s trepidation to openly commit to the Uncharted franchise’s future with a public declaration of even more sequels to come beyond The Lost Legacy is being affected by its heavy focus on the production process of the forthcoming survival-horror title, The Last of Us: Part 2. Wells went on to assert that it would be easier for the developer to be uninhibited in order to definitively make more Uncharted games happen if Naughty Dog had at least a couple of sister studios all its own.
For those unaware, prior to the release of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Naughty Dog was also unsure then if the series had a future beyond what could very well be Nathan Drake’s last adventure. At the time, Naughty Dog’s lead game designer, Robert Cogburn, said that one of the main reasons behind the likelihood of A Thief’s End being the last game for the franchise was due to the studio wanting to challenge themselves with a completely new project.
Nevertheless, after several months had passed since the release of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Naughty Dog debuted The Lost Legacy at the beginning of PlayStation Experience 2016, unveiling gameplay footage of what is to be a standalone adventure for the series’ once-side characters, Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross. With this being the case, even though the chances of another Uncharted happening after The Lost Legacy is “low,” it’s proof that the series still has a shot at being revived once more down the line.
It’s understandable for Naughty Dog to not want to milk the Uncharted franchise too much and too soon, for not only would it burn out the series’ writers, designers, and developers, but also it would start to show signs of franchise fatigue, which would cause fans to shy away from what was once a unique and solid brand. Of course, totally ruling out another Uncharted would cause Naughty Dog to be leaving behind one of its most lucrative properties, as the 2016 sales for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End ended up moving 8.7 million copies, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Taking all of this into consideration, it’s a safe bet to make that Uncharted won’t go the way of the buffalo after The Lost Legacy, but fans shouldn’t expect to see another entry soon after its release.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is currently in development for PlayStation 4, but has yet to receive an official release date.
