Naughty Dog has repeatedly said that Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is likely going to be their last Uncharted game. For sure we've been told that it's going to be the last game starring Nathan Drake. However, creative director Neil Druckmann hasn't ruled out that an Uncharted 5 could happen.
GameSpot spotted some interesting comments from creative director Neil Druckmann, who explained to GamesRadar that Uncharted could easily live on without Naughty Dog, saying...
If [new developers] made a great game I'd be excited, […] I'd want to play an Uncharted I didn't work on. It'd be a lot of fun.Obviously, we would have a big part in it as the creators of the franchise, […] We'd just want to make sure they get the essence of it right.
That's interesting.
I would also imagine that Sony would not want to end the Uncharted franchise with the fourth game. It's a lucrative brand with an upcoming movie in the works, and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is expected to sell millions of copies. In fact, the game was purposefully delayed so that they could meet the expected demand for the game the world around, that's how big the series has become.
GameSpot notes that the 21 million copies sold over the course of the franchise spans the three main Uncharted titles as well as the two PlayStation Vita titles. They also note that those Vita games and the recent Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection weren't designed by Naughty Dog, so it shows that the series can be designed by others outside of the highly venerated development studio.
Many are questioning what sort of direction they would take the series in if it didn't star Nathan Drake? Well, they already dabbled in that concept with Uncharted: Golden Abyss, where they introduced the character Marisa Chase as a potential alternative to Drake. While players didn't get to play as Chase, it opened up some doorways for the character after they got through some grueling focus group testing on the character.
There's also the possibility that characters like Cutter could make a return in another Uncharted sequel, but I tend to doubt the Jason Statham-style character would be welcomed by fans who prefer the more boyish charms of Nate.
Then again, a new studio could go in a completely different direction with an all new character we've never seen. The possibilities are kind of limitless here. I do wonder if they would try to keep it within the Drake family lineage, though? Maybe have gamers play as one of Nate's kids? I'm also wondering how well fans of the series would take to playing as someone other than Nathan Drake for the majority of a new game? I guess we'll find out if Uncharted 5 ever gets made.
For now you don't have to worry about not playing as Nate because he's still the lead character in the upcoming Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. You can look for Naughty Dog's last Uncharted title to go live on May 10, exclusively for the PlayStation 4.
