Not much is known about Naughty Dog‘s next game beyond some speculation. Now we get to add even more rumors to the pile, as the award winning developer’s next title will reportedly focus on player freedom.
New Naughty Dog game compared to a game with “a lot of player freedom”
The newest rumor comes from the latest episode of The MinnMax Show at around one hour and 53 minutes in. According to host Ben Hanson, a source that is “very in the know” and has worked on the new Naughty Dog game said it would be “amazing” and that it would feature a lot of player freedom. The source compared it to a specific game, but Hanson did not disclose that information on the episode.
“I heard from somebody very in the know who worked on the game that they’re like Jesus Christ . . . the tone was like you are all not ready for how amazing this is going to be,” said Hanson. “And the tone was, I’m not going to say the game that they referenced to compare it . . . but they compared to a game with a lot of player freedom.”
Naughty Dog exploring more open ended gameplay is certainly interesting considering its track record. In terms of dialogue, the most they explored with this is Uncharted 4, which had some dialogue options that did not amount to much. In terms of gameplay, The Last of Us Part 2 does give players more freedom to tackle most combat scenarios. Additionally, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy was a bit of a precursor to TLOU Part 2 with its similarly open gameplay.
It seems Hanson’s source is comparing this new Naughty Dog game with something not related to the studio. What that game may be is unknown, but it is fun to add even more speculation to the pile. Some recent notable games that explore player freedom in great ways are Elden Ring, Baldur’s Gate 3, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Deathloop. It could be one of those, or not. We won’t know until the game gets formally announced.
There has been some recent speculation about Naughty Dog’s next game. In a job ad posted in August, an opening for Naughty Dog listed experience for third-person and first-person action-adventure games as a bonus skill. While this doesn’t confirm the studio is working on a first-person game, it is certainly a possibility. Naughty Dog boss Neil Druckmann has stated that they are “totally open” to a perspective change.
