Naughty Dog Scrapped Uncharted 5 For Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

The Uncharted series has become a staple exclusive franchise for Sony. Starting off on the PlayStation 3, the development team Naughty Dog had officially wrapped up the protagonist’s story with Uncharted 4 on the PlayStation 4.

When Uncharted: The Lost Legacy expansion was unveiled, gamers were quickly wondering just how the title would fit within the universe and how this title would incorporate Nathan Drake. Naughty Dog had similar questions when they wrapped Uncharted 4 and now thanks to an interview with Naughty Dog’s Josh Scherr and Game Informer, we now have some new backstory on the development decisions.

There were apparently several ideas in the mix when Uncharted 4 wrapped. For instance, Naughty Dog considered making another new installment with Uncharted 5. However, the developers felt that Nathan Drake’s story concluded and with so much focus on the sequel to The Last of Us, the team had to think a bit smaller.

That’s when the expansion came into play which was something small enough to release within a year’s time. Again, being that the franchise is full of big cinematic moments and exploration, even an expansion quickly grew in size.

“We had the unique opportunity to do something that was truly stand-alone, unlike Left Behind which was like the missing chunk of the story in The Last of Us. This is something we can do completely independently while still in the same universe with the same characters, and exploring new relationships with them.”

Likewise, the universe of Uncharted allowed the developers to stick to the world but showcase different characters. Apparently, the development team considered using Sully as the main protagonist, though that would require a rewind in the timeline so players were not going through a game as an aging character.

Ultimately, the developers chose to feature Chloe and Nadine as the protagonists. While we’re still patiently waiting to hear more details regarding the expansion, we may find out new details regarding the exclusive PlayStation 4 title at this year’s E3 expo.